Falun 2027 in Limbo: The World Championships With No Backup Host, 111 Days Out

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What is the Falun 2027 row about?

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2027 are 111 days away, and they do not have a settled host. Falun, in Sweden, is set to stage the event from 24 February to 7 March 2027, but the championships are caught in a row about Russian and Belarusian athletes, and the only place reported as a possible backup host has now said, in the clearest possible terms, that it will not take over.

Falun will host the Nordic World Championships for the sixth time in 2027, 12 years after its fifth edition, and only Lahti, with seven editions, has staged the showpiece more often. The event will feature 26 medal events, including the first women's Nordic Combined team event at a World Championship, and it is the biggest date on the Nordic calendar outside the Olympic Games. The FIS has completed its final inspection of the venues, including the ski jumping, Nordic combined and cross-country courses and the Medal Plaza in Falun's main square, Stora Torget. On paper, Falun is ready.

The problem is not the venues. It is who is allowed to compete in them. The FIS has recently relaxed its policy on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes, allowing them to return to its competitions under the status of neutral individual athletes, provided they sign a declaration of neutrality. Sweden, the host country, intends to prevent them from competing in the event. That clash, between the international federation's rules and the host nation's wishes, is what has put the championships in limbo.

Why did Val di Fiemme say no?

The row became a crisis when reports suggested that Val di Fiemme, an Italian valley, had expressed willingness to take over the 2027 Championships from Falun. The reports were carried by several international media outlets, and they were fuelled, according to Nordic Magazine, by public comments from a member of the FIS, who had mentioned Val di Fiemme as an alternative venue should Falun encounter difficulties in issuing visas to Russian athletes.

Val di Fiemme's organising committee then issued a statement denying any involvement, calling the reports a result of a misinterpretation or mistranslation. Pietro De Godenz, the chairman of the local Nordic committee, was blunt. He said: "We are grateful for this mark of esteem and trust in Val di Fiemme, but we categorically rule out any involvement on our part in the organisation of the 2027 event." He added that no request, whether official or unofficial, has been made to Val di Fiemme to host the 2027 Championships, and that the valley's schedule is already too full, with no economic or organisational prerequisites for hosting the event.

The denial matters because it removes the only named alternative. Val di Fiemme's facilities at Predazzo and Lago di Tesero, which will be used during the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Games, are in perfect condition. But the valley no longer has the accommodation capacity required to host an event of this scale, and organising world championships requires financial and logistical preparation spanning several years, not a few months. Local officials have confirmed their interest in the 2033 or 2035 editions instead, subject to approval from the municipalities concerned and discussions with the Autonomous Province of Trento. That is a future bid, not a rescue.

Swedish skier Maja Dahlqvist called the potential shift "snopet, and very sad", reflecting broader frustration among athletes. She was talking about the idea of moving the championships away from Falun, and her words capture the mood. Athletes want to race in Falun, in front of tens of thousands of passionate fans, as they did in 2015. They do not want their world championships turned into a political argument about venues, and they do not want to find out where they are racing a few months before the event.

What does Sweden actually want, and what does FIS allow?

The row has three sides, and the table below sets them out, because the confusion comes from mixing them up.

Sweden, through its ski federation, is trying to persuade the government to refuse visas to Russian athletes, according to SVT Sport reporting carried by Nordic Magazine. The Swedish Ski Federation wants the championships to go ahead in Falun without Russian and Belarusian athletes taking part. That is a political position, driven by the host nation's stance on the war in Ukraine, and it is the position that has put Falun's hosting at risk, because the FIS awards championships on the understanding that all eligible athletes can compete.

The FIS, for its part, has relaxed its policy. Russian and Belarusian athletes are authorised to return to FIS competitions as neutral individual athletes, provided they sign a declaration of neutrality, and at least one Russian skier, Savelii Korostelev, has been added to the FIS list of neutral individual athletes for the 2026-27 season. The federation's position is that the championships are open to all eligible athletes, and that a host cannot pick and choose who competes.

Val di Fiemme, the third side, wants nothing to do with it. It has denied any bid, denied receiving any request, and said its calendar is too full. The valley will host a round of the Nordic Combined World Cup from 11 to 13 December, a round of the Continental Cup in ski jumping on 19 and 20 December, and the Tour de Ski final from 8 to 10 January 2027. It is busy, and it is not available as a backup.

| Side | Position | What they want | | Sweden and the Swedish Ski Federation | Trying to persuade the government to refuse visas to Russian athletes | Falun hosts, without Russian and Belarusian athletes | | FIS | Russian and Belarusian athletes may return as neutral individual athletes | Falun hosts, open to all eligible athletes | | Val di Fiemme | Denies any bid, no request received, calendar too full | No involvement in 2027, possible bid for 2033 or 2035 | | Athletes, including Maja Dahlqvist | Frustrated by the uncertainty | Race in Falun, as planned |

As of now, no official decision has been made on the 2027 Championships' venue. Falun is still the host, no alternative venue has been officially announced, and the event's future is uncertain, with no clear alternative host emerging. That is the honest position. It is not that Falun has lost the championships. It is that the championships are 111 days away, the host country and the federation disagree about who can compete, and the only reported backup has said no.

What happens if Falun cannot host?

There are three realistic outcomes, and none of them is good for the athletes who have been preparing for Falun.

The first is that Falun hosts as planned, with the visa question resolved one way or the other. Either Sweden issues the visas and the Russian and Belarusian athletes compete as neutrals, or the FIS accepts that they will not compete and the championships go ahead without them. The first option satisfies the FIS but not Sweden. The second satisfies Sweden but not the FIS, and it would set a precedent that host nations can exclude athletes the federation has cleared.

The second outcome is that the championships move, but to where? Val di Fiemme has said no, and no other venue has been named. Moving a world championships with 111 days to go would require a venue with existing courses, existing accommodation, and existing broadcast infrastructure, and it would require the FIS to find one willing to take on an event of this scale at that notice. The final inspections for the 2027 championships have already been held, and they covered three venues, not just Falun, which shows how much preparation goes into these events. A late move would be a major disruption, not a simple swap.

The third outcome is that the championships are delayed or cancelled, which is the worst option for everyone and the least likely, because the FIS, the athletes, the broadcasters and the sponsors all have too much invested. But the fact that it has to be mentioned at all, 111 days before the opening ceremony, shows how serious the row has become.

| Outcome | Likelihood | What it means for athletes | | Falun hosts as planned | Most likely, but not settled | Race in Falun, visa question decided one way or the other | | Championships move to another venue | Unlikely, no venue named | Disruption, new courses, new travel, late notice | | Delay or cancellation | Least likely, but not impossible | Season plans destroyed, no world titles awarded |

What did the FIS final inspections find?

While the Falun row continues, the FIS has been checking the venues for all three of next season's World Championships, and the inspections found them ready. The table below gives the three events, because they are often confused, and they are all part of the same 2027 season.

| Championship | Host and dates | What the inspection found | | Alpine World Ski Championships | Crans-Montana, Switzerland, 1 to 14 February 2027 | Final inspection held in the penultimate week of September, second time hosting, 40 years after the first | | Nordic World Ski Championships | Falun, Sweden, 24 February to 7 March 2027 | Final inspection complete, sixth time hosting, 26 medal events | | Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships | Montafon, Austria, 2027 | 31 gold medals, the largest ever, halfpipe in Kuhtai, 100 kilometres away |

Crans-Montana is prepared for celebration, according to the FIS, and its final inspection was held in the penultimate week of September. This will be the second time the Valais resort has held the Alpine championships, 40 years after the first. Falun, as above, leans on experience and local participation and traditions, and its final inspection covered the venues and the Medal Plaza. Montafon is set for historic Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships, with the addition of the Dual Moguls Team event meaning 31 gold medals will be awarded. They will be the largest Snowboard, Freestyle and Freeski World Championships in history, and the biggest winter sports event ever staged in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg.

Viaplay, the Scandinavian media and entertainment giant, has also secured the broadcast rights in Sweden to the Nordic World Championships in Falun, in a deal struck with the FIS that also includes rights to the 2027 Alpine World Championships in Crans-Montana and the 2027 Freestyle Ski and Snowboard World Championships in Montafon. That deal, reported eight days ago, is another reason the championships are unlikely to move. Broadcasters have bought the rights to Falun, not to a venue to be named later.

What is happening on snow this week?

The Falun row is a story about February, but skiing is happening now, and the next nine days matter for World Cup fans. Kitzbuhel opens on Friday 6 November, but only in part, with limited skiing on selected snowmaking slopes on the Resterkogel sector. Austria Tourism lists 21 November as the first official weekend, so check the lift status before travelling, and do not expect the full 233 kilometres of slopes on Friday.

The World Cup returns in Levi, Finland, on 14 and 15 November, after a three-week break since Solden, and Levi is nine days away. The women's slalom runs on Saturday 14 November and the men's slalom on Sunday 15 November, on the Levi Black slope, with Run 1 at 11:00 Levi local time and Run 2 at 14:00 local time. Mikaela Shiffrin will skip both Levi slaloms as part of her exploration season, focusing on giant slalom and super-G, with her first slalom of the season scheduled for Killington on 29 November, where she will chase her 111th World Cup win. That makes Levi the most open slalom race of the season so far, with Lara Colturi, Emma Aicher and Camille Rast as the leading contenders for the women's reindeer trophy, and Lucas Pinheiro Braathen defending his Levi slalom win for the men.

After Levi, the World Cup moves to Gurgl on 21 and 22 November for the next slaloms, then to Killington in the United States on 28 and 29 November for the women's giant slalom and slalom, where Shiffrin returns to slalom. Gurgl resort opens on 16 November, five days before the World Cup arrives, which shows how November works for World Cup resorts. The race is the opening, not the result of a long season.

For skiers, the safest options this week are glaciers and northern resorts that are already open, including Solden, Hintertux, Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Levi and Ruka, plus Engelberg, Murren and Sulden in the Alps. Kitzbuhel on Friday is the next step in the spread of winter, even if it is only in part. Falun in February is the next step in the spread of a row that nobody in skiing wants, and the next 111 days will decide whether it is resolved in Falun, or somewhere else, or not at all.

Related live posts: Kitzbuhel Opens Friday in Part Only: November Ski Openings Table and the 6 November Question, and Levi Slalom Preview Without Shiffrin: Who Wins the Reindeer, Plus Kitzbuhel Opens Friday.

Sources: Nordic Magazine, Val di Fiemme denies any bid to replace Falun as host of the 2027 World Championships, 1 November 2026; Nordic Magazine, Sweden is trying to prevent Russian athletes from taking part in the 2027 World Championships in Falun, 21 October 2026; Archynewsy via Expressen, Val di Fiemme withdraws from potential Ski World Championships 2027 shift, 1 November 2026; FIS, Crans-Montana, Falun, Montafon ready for World Championships, 31 October 2026; Sportcal, Viaplay lands Swedish rights to FIS Nordic World Ski Championships, 28 October 2026; NBC Sports, Mikaela Shiffrin shifts World Cup race schedule for season of exploration, 6 October 2026.