Oslo  -  Petter Ronningen, a veteran from several Olympic bid campaigns, was Wednesday named new head of the 2018 winter Olympics bid committee for the Norwegian city of Tromso, broadcaster NRK reported.

Ronningen has experience from campaigns for the 1994 Winter Olympics held in Lillehammer, Norway and bids for Winter Olympics that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded to Salt Lake City (2002), Vancouver (2010) and Sochi (2014).

He succeeds Bjorge Stensbol who resigned last month amid controversy.

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.

Ronningen said he initially opposed Tromso's selection, but was now fully on board to work for the bid.

"We have an extraordinary chance to create something unique," he said.

His first main task is to help secure a state guarantee worth billions of kroner to meet IOC requirements.

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)