The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that three cities have been approved as candidates to stage the Winter Olympic Games in 2018.

All three applicants - Munich, Germany; PyeongChang, South Korea; and Annecy, France - were unanimously backed by the IOC's executive board at a meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 22 June. The IOC's executive board took the decision following a technical analysis of each bid, which included the cities' potential to stage a successful event and a range of infrastructure assessments.

Annecy has been asked to review its venue concept, but all three will now have the chance to submit their Candidature File to the IOC by 11 January 2011, ahead of a visit by the IOC's evaluation commission. The host will be named at the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa, in July 2011.