According to local media, Laura Vilagrà said the referendum on the potential candidacy could take place before the summer of 2022.

Vilagrá added the Pyrenees-Barcelona project cannot proceed unless those involved in the referendum vote in favour.

The development may cause concern at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after citizens in several candidate cities for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympics voted against staging the Games.

While support from the public for Pyrenees-Barcelona hosting the Games in 2030 is thought to be high, the IOC will be wary of referendum defeats in cities such as Innsbruck in Austria, Sion in Switzerland and Calgary in Canada, which reduced the 2026 race to a straight battle between Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo and Stockholm-Åre.

Vilagrá revealed that the referendum would include residents of the 77 Spanish municipalities involved directly or indirectly in the Olympic and Paralympic project, thought to be around 63,000 people.

A recent poll conducted by the Catalonian Government found nearly 75 per cent were supportive of the candidacy.

But an opposition group in November called for the project to be abandoned, claiming the region hosting the Games would have drastic socio-economic consequences and would ignore the climate change crisis.

Members of the Commission created by the Spanish Olympic Committee to explore a bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, which held its first meeting last month, are set to travel to Beijing for next month's Games.

Pyrenees-Barcelona is one of several potential contenders to stage the 2030 Winter Olympics under the IOC's revamped system for selecting host cities.

Sapporo had been the favourite to land the hosting rights before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but the Japanese city recently revised its planned bid to reduce costs.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told IOC President Thomas Bach in-person in September that his country is "determined" to become a Winter Olympic host, but any potential bid could be affected by tense relations with Russia. 

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee has yet to decide over whether to push ahead with a Salt Lake City bid for either 2030 or 2034.

Vancouver has also eyed a bid for the Games, 20 years on from the Canadian city last hosting the event.