It followed discussions between Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and Sergey Bubka, head of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ukraine.

The decision comes as a result of the present political and economic circumstances in Ukraine, which were discussed between the three parties, the IOC announced during the Sochi 2014 debrief currently taking place here. 

"The preliminary evaluation by the IOC's working group found that the Lviv bid offered huge potential for future development," said Bach.

"In my discussions with the Ukrainian Prime Minster and NOC President, we concluded that it would be extremely difficult to pursue the 2022 bid under the current circumstances, but that a future bid would make sense for Ukraine and Ukrainian sport."

Yatsenyuk hasalso agreed that "a bid for 2026 would have excellent potential for the economic recovery of the country, and could have huge benefits for Ukrainian society".

National Oympic Committee of Ukraine President Sergey Bubka had claimed the crisis in his country would not derail the 2022 bid, but now bowed to inevitable and withdrawn
©AFP/Getty Images



Bubka had repeatedly tried to claim that Lviv's bid was strong enough to survive the crisis but has now bowed to the inevitable. 

"We would like to thank the IOC very much for its help and understanding, as well as the great assistance that it has given to Ukrainian athletes from all parts of the country, both morally and financially," he said. 

The announcement comes a week before the IOC's ruling Executive Board, which includes Bubka, meets to draw up a shortlist of Candidate Cities.

There are now only three cities left in the - Almaty, Beijing and Oslo - following the earlier withdrawal Kraków in Poland after a public referendum there found local citizens did not back the bid and Stockholm because of lack of support from the city and Government. 

Oslo's campaign, meanwhile, remains in the balance because of political opposition there which means it still does not have the necessary Government guarantees.

Just three Olympic bids remain in the race for the 2022 Games: Almaty Beijing and Oslo ©Popperfoto/Getty Images



"It is sad to drop out because the beautiful city of Lviv has great potential to host a wonderful Olympic Games," Sergej Gontcharov, the chief executive of Lviv 2022, told insidethegames here. 

"But we have always said that we will only continue if we can be certain to deliver on all our promises.

"Due to the current circumstances in Ukraine, we, however, felt that a bid for 2026 would make more sense.

"We remain convinced of the positive impact that hosting Olympic Games would have for the city of Lviv and the whole country.

"This is also why we decided to take part in the Sochi debrief in Pyeongchang and agreed with the IOC to still discuss their evaluation of our bid.

"We will continue to pursue our dream."

The current political situation in Ukraine made it impossible for Lviv to continue to bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics ©AFP/Getty Images

Gontcharov claimed that Lviv would continue to factor the Olympics into its future city planning.

"The planning of the 2022 bid has benefited the city by inspiring new initiatives and improving existing plans," he said. 

"Most of the necessary infrastructure projects for the Games are part of the city's long-term development plan irrespective of the Games and will continue to be implemented.

"Thanks to the close cooperation and partnership with the IOC, we have learned a great deal during our first ever bid and we will come back stronger.

"Lastly, I'd like to wish the best of luck to our now former fellow candidate cities and extend our appreciation to the IOC President and the whole bid relations team for their strong support in recent months."

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