The seven sports are biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, luge, figure skating and skiing. These have been at the core of the Winter Olympic program since the 1998 Nagano Games. These proposals are a first step towards determining the disciplines in each sport around five years before the Games. Before that, the sports will be put to a vote at the 142nd IOC Session shortly before the start of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

The next step is to review the disciplines in the sports and determine quota places. The respective organizing committee of the Winter Olympics can also propose sports. For the upcoming Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, ski mountaineering has been proposed to be included in the program.

Kit McConnell, IOC Sports Director, said, "Efforts should continue to focus on maximizing the positive impact of the Games wherever possible and developing a program that remains balanced and relevant to young people, ensuring gender equality, innovation, universality and the participation of the best athletes, while reducing costs."

However, classic sports are under pressure. The IOC did not include women's Nordic combined in the Olympic program for 2026. This makes Nordic Combined the last sport at the Olympics that does not have gender parity. The quota places have also been reduced.The national associations fear a gradual decline of Nordic combined, which has been on the Olympic program since 1924 and it is not certain whether Nordic Combined will still have a place in the 2030 Games programme.

The 2030 Winter Olympics, for which the seven core sports have now been proposed by the IOC Executive Board, will most likely take place in the French Alps. The IOC session will make its decision on 24 July. In France, Winter Games have so far been held in Chamonix 1924, Grenoble 1968 and Albertville 1992.