Neighbouring 3 Valleys resorts Courchevel and Meribel have launched a joint bid to host the FIS World Alpine Skiing Championships in 2023.
If successful the resorts would join a group of less than 10 ski areas worldwide to have hosted Olympic, world championship and World cup competitions.
Whilst the Winter Olympic Games have been moving ever further East in to Asia since 2010, with no chance of a return to Europe on North America now for at least another decade, the planet's more established ski areas continue to do battle to win the chance to host the bi-annual World Alpine Skiing Championships, last staged in Vail and beaver Creek last winter and due to be hosted by St Moritz in a year's time in 2017.
The two resorts, both world leading ski centres in their own right, have both been increasing their presence on the world-class competition map in recent years, staging World Cup races for the first time in many years. Since 2010, Courchevel has organised a stage in the women's Alpine World Cup skiing circuit.
The resorts are also home to top French ski racers, including Courchevel based skier Alexis Pinturault has proudly carried the colours of the resort to competitions around the world, taking his third consecutive win in the super combined race at Kitzbühel on 22 January.
The final decision on who will host the 2023 event will be made in June 2018. The 2019 competition will be staged in are, Sweden and the 2021 in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The last Alpine Skiing Championships staged in France was the 2009 competition in Val d'Isere.