A poll conducted by Japanese newspaper Hokkaido Shimbun in December found that 67 per cent in the city did not want to host the Games.

This a massive increase from another poll in September last year that saw 38 per cent saying they were not keen on Japan hosting the Games.  

Last month, the City of Sapporo and the Japanese Olympic Committee decided to pause their efforts to bid for the Games because of the "damage done" by the Tokyo 2020 bribery scandal.

However, Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto insisted that the bid is only being put on hold.

But the latest poll results are not going to help the Japanese city's hopes of staging the event for the second time.

In Hokkaido alone, 61 per cent opposed to the idea while 12 per cent "support" and 21 per cent "somewhat support" the bid.

A total of 23 per cent said they did not want the Games due the ongoing Tokyo 2020 scandal.

A set of the public - 48 per cent - also felt that costs of staging the Games should be used for COVID-19 counter measures and snow removal during the winter season instead.

It has been estimated that the Games in Sapporo would cost between ¥297 billion (£1.85 billion/$2.25 billion/€2.1 billion) and ¥317 billion (£1.9 billion/$2.4 billion/€2.2 billion).

A pause in the Sapporo bid means that Salt Lake City is the only viable candidate for 2030.

However, they are keen on the 2034 edition to avoid clashing with sponsorships for the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

A bid from Vancouver has not progressed since the Government of British Columbia announced it would not fund a bid.

Meanwhile, a joint bid between Valais in Switzerland and Chamonix in France and resorts in northern Italy last week was immediately shut down after Chamonix ruled itself out only a few hours after the proposal became public. 

The International Olympic Committee has announced that it might delay its decision on the 2030 hosts until 2024.

Japan has staged the Winter Olympics twice with Sapporo playing host in 1972, followed by Nagano in 1998.