Oslo  - Olympic cross-country ski champion Vegard Ulvang said on Tuesday he will not head a 2018 Winter Olympics bid committee for the Norwegian city of Tromso, broadcaster NRK reported.

"I do not have the necessary qualifications or the qualities," Ulvang said, adding he also had family concerns.

The three-time Olympic gold medallist from 1988 and 1992 has been mentioned as a possible successor to Bjorge Stensbol who resigned last month amid controversy.

Ulvang said it was necessary to find someone who could promote the bid and act as a unifying factor.

Tromso, above the Arctic Circle, was a year ago selected as Norwegian candidate over rival bids from Trondheim in central Norway and the capital Oslo.

The city still needs to secure a state guarantee worth billions of kroner to meet requirements from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The 2018 host city will be elected by the IOC in 2011, and likely candidates include Munich, Germany. Norway has hosted Winter Olympics in Oslo 1952 and in Lillehammer
1994. (dpa)