(ATR) The people of Garmisch-Partenkirchen will have their say whether to include the twin cities in the Munich bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics.
A petition drive calling for a referendum on the Olympics gathered enough signatures to be placed on a May 8 ballot. Along with the chance to vote against the Olympics, another option will be to vote in favor of staging alpine events in this Bavarian mountain city.
A statement from Munich 2018 issued late Tuesday expresses confidence in the outcome of the vote.
"The people of Garmisch-Partenkirchen impressively proved their passion for winter sports during the Alpine World Ski Championships last month. Polls in the recent past have shown that the large majority is in favour of the Games. Munich 2018 is looking forward to the referendum with optimism."
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, located about an hour south of Munich, with a population of about 27,000, is well-known as a winter sports mecca. The 2011 FIS alpine skiing world championships were staged in February.
The city’s Olympic heritage goes back to 1936 when it hosted the fourth Winter Olympics.
Referendums in the past have been problematic for bids as well as host cities. After the U.S. city of Denver was awarded the 1976 Olympics, Colorado voters rejected spending state money on the Games, which were moved to Innsbruck.
In 2002, Bern, Switzerland, abandoned the race for 2010 when city voters turned away a bid even after the IOC included the Swiss capital on the shortlist.
A few months later, Vancouver succeeded with a referendum that solidified its position as the front runner in the 2010 campaign.
Although there is opposition to the Annecy bid, there are no plans for a referendum. PyeongChang, which enjoys public support at the 90 percent level, has no plans to stage a referendum.
The vote in Garmisch-Partenkirchen will come just days before the IOC Evaluation Commission releases its report on the 2018 bids. On May 18 and 19, the three cities will present technical elements of their bids to the IOC meeting in Lausanne.
For Munich, the task of explaining to the IOC whether the Olympics are welcomed in Garmisch will be made either difficult or easy, depending on the outcome of the May 8 vote.
Written by Ed Hula
Últimas Noticias
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
