The Arctic Winter Games International Committee has chosen Fairbanks to host the games in 2028.
That’s according to a press release issued Tuesday, which says organizers chose to buck an April decision that would’ve moved to a three-year cycle temporarily. The announcement means the next Arctic Winter Games, which had been set for 2029, will happen a year earlier than was planned.
A statement from the committee’s president says an “extraordinary” proposal from Fairbanks this spring made it possible to return to the traditional two-year cycle. The press release says the Fairbanks 2028 Host Society worked with the Fairbanks North Star Borough, school district, State of Alaska and other partners to demonstrate the community’s readiness to host the games.
“We congratulate everyone involved and look forward to working together to deliver an outstanding Arctic Winter Games experience in 2028,” AWGIC President John Rodda said in the statement.
The international competition brings together about 2,000 youth participants from across the Circumpolar North, including Alaska, Canada and Nordic countries. The multi-sport event and Indigenous cultural celebration started in 1970 and features sports like hockey, skiing, curling as well as Dene games, such as the finger pull and snow snake.
The competition took place in Whitehorse, Yukon, last winter. It was last hosted in Alaska in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough in 2024. The games have come to Fairbanks three times – twice in the 1980s and another time in 2014.
The Northwest Territories had been slated to host the 2028 iteration of the event, but withdrew its bid in 2024. Its municipal and community affairs minister cited reasons like insufficient capacity and facilities, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported at the time.