Municipal governments
FILE - International Olympic Committee's President Thomas Bach and Seiko Hashimoto, president of the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games make the sign of a heart with their hands during the closing ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. The Tokyo Olympics survived the COVID-19 postponement, soaring expenses and some public opposition. A year later, the costs and benefits are as difficult to untangle as the Games were to pull off. (Dan Mullen/Pool Photo via AP)
Tokyo Olympic aftermath still being untangled a year later

By Stephen Wade Jul. 21, 2022 01:16 AM EDT

CORRECTS FROM GAME 1 TO GAME 2 - Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) loses the ball while being defended by Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green (23) and guard Stephen Curry during the second half of Game 2 of basketball's NBA Finals in San Francisco, Sunday, June 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
FIBA resists Paris Olympics plan for remote basketball venue

By Graham Dunbar Jun. 08, 2022 10:15 AM EDT

FILE - A volunteer walks past the Olympic rings ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo on July 22, 2021. Japan's northern city of Sapporo on Monday, June 6, 2022, rejected holding a referendum to give voters a choice over bidding for the 2030 Winter Olympics. The city's assembly, controlled by Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, which is also in charge of the national government, turned down having a public vote. Its meeting was streamed online. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris, File)
Sapporo rejects holding referendum over bidding for Olympics

By Yuri Kageyama And Stephen Wade Jun. 06, 2022 03:09 AM EDT

FILE - The Olympic rings are seen during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics on Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. Will it be 2030, the first opening on the IOC calendar? Or might the International Olympic Committee make a double award and also name the 2034 host, which it did 4 1/2 years ago when it had two strong candidates and named Paris for the 2024 Olympics and Los Angeles for 2028. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Salt Lake, Sapporo head race to 2030 Olympics, and maybe '34

By Stephen Wade May. 02, 2022 01:08 AM EDT

FILE - The Olympic rings during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. Officials in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo say there is public support for holding the 2030 Winter Olympics. However, Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto says the city has no plans to hold a binding public referendum for the final word. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
Sapporo shows strong support for 2030 Winter Olympics

By Yuri Kageyama And Stephen Wade Mar. 16, 2022 08:59 AM EDT

Flag bearers march into the stadium during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Beijing's Olympics close, ending safe but odd global moment

By Ted Anthony Feb. 20, 2022 02:50 AM EST

Li Chunjian, Ding Song, Ye Jielong and She Hao, of China, slide during the 4-man heat 1 at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Behind China's Olympics, the saga of a chained woman unfolds

By Huizhong Wu Feb. 19, 2022 02:12 AM EST

Li Chunjian, Ding Song, Ye Jielong and She Hao, of China, slide during the 4-man heat 1 at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022, in the Yanqing district of Beijing. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin)
Behind China's Olympics, the saga of a chained woman unfolds

By Huizhong Wu Feb. 19, 2022 12:53 AM EST

FILE - Workers wearing protective suits stand at an hotel's reception at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Feb. 11, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
BEIJING DIARY: A segmented city, ideal for pandemic Olympics

By Ted Anthony Feb. 13, 2022 05:36 AM EST

A medical worker collects a sample from a reporter taking part in the Beijing Winter Olympics torch relay activities at a coronavirus test site in Beijing, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022. With more than 30 new COVID-19 cases being detected daily ahead of the Beijing Olympics, organizers said Wednesday they aren't worried and expect numbers to drop within days. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Beijing says COVID-19 situation 'controllable,' 'safe'

Feb. 02, 2022 06:28 AM EST

Residents wearing face masks to help protect from the coronavirus line up to get a throat swab at a COVID-19 test site outside a residential housing block in Fengtai District in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2022. The Chinese capital reported an uptick more than dozen daily new COVID-19 cases as it began a third round of mass testing of millions of people Wednesday in the run-up to the Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
China's Olympics COVID measures test residents' patience

By Ken Moritsugu Jan. 26, 2022 12:51 AM EST

Volunteers wearing face masks to help protect from the coronavirus check name lists at a coronavirus testing facility at a school in Fengtai District in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 24, 2022. Chinese authorities have lifted a monthlong lockdown of Xi'an and its 13 million residents as infections subside ahead of the Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, the 2 million residents of one Beijing district are being tested following a series of cases in the capital. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
China tests 2M in Beijing, lifts COVID lockdown in Xi’an

By Ken Moritsugu Jan. 24, 2022 12:31 AM EST

Visitors wearing face masks to help protect from the coronavirus gather to take souvenir photo with a decoration for the Beijing Winter Olympics Games on display at Qianmen Street, a popular tourist spot in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Chinese authorities have called on the public to stay where they are during the Lunar New Year instead of traveling to their hometowns for the year's most important family holiday. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Beijing district orders mass virus testing ahead of Olympics

Jan. 23, 2022 06:19 AM EST

Residents line up for mass coronavirus tests in Huaxian County in central China's Henan Province, Friday, Jan. 14, 2022. China further tightened its anti-pandemic measures in Beijing and across the country on Friday as scattered outbreaks continued ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics in a little over two weeks. (Chinatopix via AP)
Anti-coronavirus measures tightened across China

Jan. 14, 2022 04:28 AM EST

Olympic Rings assembled atop of a structure stand out near a ski resort on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. The Chinese capital is gearing up for the Winter Olympics the midst of COVID-19 outbreaks in several Chinese cities which have been locked down. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
China faces omicron test weeks ahead of Beijing Olympics

By Huizhong Wu Jan. 13, 2022 01:15 AM EST

FILE - Francois Carrard, FIFA Reform Committee Chairman, attends a news conference at the FIFA Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, Dec. 3, 2015. The former longtime IOC director general Francois Carrard has died, the Olympic body said Monday, Jan. 10, 2022. He was 83. The International Olympic Committee said it was “deeply saddened” to learn of Carrard’s death. The cause was not specified. (Walter Bieri/Keystone via AP, file)
François Carrard, legal doyen of Olympic sports, dies at 83

Jan. 10, 2022 04:05 AM EST

Munich city council backs NFL games at home of Bayern

Dec. 15, 2021 10:28 AM EST
MUNICH (AP) — The Munich city council gave its backing Wednesday to a bid to host regular-season NFL games at the home of soccer club Bayern Munich. ...

FILE - Mike Lafferty, Eugene, Ore. in Sapporo non-stop training run of Olympic men?s downhill on Mt. Eniwa track in which he finished fifth, Feb. 6, 1972. The northern Japanese city of Sapporo is set to announce on Monday, Nov. 29, 2021, what it says will be a reduction in costs that will make it an attractive venue for the 2030 Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Michel Lipchitz, File)
Sapporo says it can hold 2030 Olympics and also save money

By Stephen Wade And Yuri Kageyama Nov. 29, 2021 05:05 AM EST

FILE - This Thursday, April 4, 2019 file photo shows a view of the San Siro stadium in Milan, Italy. The opening ceremony for the 2026 Winter Olympics will be held at the current San Siro stadium, Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala announced Friday Oct. 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni, File)
Milan mayor: 2026 ceremony will be held in old San Siro

Oct. 29, 2021 01:25 PM EDT

French President Emmanuel Macron, followed by French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer arrive in Tremblay-en-France, outside Paris, Thursday, Oct.14, 2021. French President Emmanuel Macron will promote sports ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (AP Photo/Francois Mori, Pool)
France to boost sport practice ahead of Paris 2024 Olympics

Oct. 14, 2021 09:02 AM EDT