Krakow withdraws bid for 2022 Winter Olympics

Oslo is one of four cities bidding to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. (AP Photo/Vegard Grott)

Krakow, Poland, dropped its bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics after residents of the city voted against the plan, reports the Associated Press.

Nearly 70 percent of voters rejected the plan in a referendum on Sunday.

Four cities remain in an effort to host the games: Almaty, Kazahkstan; Beijing; Lviv, Ukraine; and Oslo, Norway.

The International Olympic Committee will choose the host city in July 2015, but Oslo's bid could also be in jeopardy as the city is facing political opposition to host the games. The 2018 Winter Olympics will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

"Krakow is closing its efforts to be the host of the 2022 Winter Games due to the low support for the idea among the residents," Krakow mayor Jacek Majchrowski said in a statement. "I regret that the referendum has put a definite end to ... the project that I considered to be very important for the development of the whole region."

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Krakow proposed hosting the Games together with neighboring Slovakia. The candidacy was rocked in April when bid leader Jagna Marczulajtis-Walczak resigned following allegations her husband offered money to journalists in return for favorable stories.