On the Scene - Rotterdam 2018 Youth Olympic Bid Still Awaits Government Guarantees

(ATR) Rotterdam will be forced to abandon its 2018 Youth Olympic bid if a new coalition government does not commit the necessary financial guarantees.

Rotterdam submitted its bid book to the IOC by the Oct. 15 deadline without the guarantees. Buenos Aires, Glasgow, Guadalajara and Medellin also handed over bid dossiers said to contain financial commitments from their respective governments.

"It was not possible to have the guarantees. We told that to the IOC," bid leader Jos van der Vegt told Around the Rings following a press conference in the Dutch port city Thursday.

Following the general election last month, the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) and the Labour Party (PvdA) have been locked in talks aimed at forming a new government.

Van der Vegt said the IOC had approved a request from Rotterdam 2018 chiefs well ahead of the bid book submission to delay delivery of financial guarantees by January at the latest.

"We said to the IOC ‘are you going to give us a chance, two or three months, to deliver all the guarantees. They didn’t say no," he said.

Van der Vegt is confident the coalition government will be formed in time and will sign off on financial support for the YOG bid. Since announcing their bid in February and finalizing budgets in the summer, he emphasized that MPs from both the VVD and PvdA parties had offered significant support to push on with the YOG effort.

"It is a tough job to do in three months. But we talked before with the parties who are negotiating for government. They are sport-minded people," he said. "I amfairly confident we can realize it."

The Rotterdam 2018 bid chairman told the news conference that the organization of the 2018 YOG would cost €75 million ($98m).

Of this amount, 60 percent would be financed by sponsors, lotteries and private donors, the remainder would come from city and government coffers – 20 percent from each, or $20 million.

He told ATR that about $33 million of the total YOG cost would be spent on building a temporary Olympic Village and work on preparations around the existing Ahoy Arena in the south of Rotterdam, which would be hub of Games action.

Dutch NOC president André Bolhuis told ATR that he hoped a coalition government was in place by mid-November to underwrite the total cost of the bid.

"I think they will support it [with financial guarantees], because it [YOG] is a fantastic event for the youth, for the Netherlands, for sport," he said.

Rotterdam 2018’s slogan "Let’s rock, Let’s move, Let’s sport" was also unveiled at the news conference today, messaging aimed at promotinga healthy lifestyle among young people.

Rotterdam’s plans not only involve organising the YOG, but also an extensive national program focusing on sporting, cultural and educational activities for Dutch youth.

"Together with the NOC*NSF (Netherlands Olympic Committee*Netherlands Sports Confederation) and the national government, Rotterdam likes to see the YOG act as a big, positive catalyst," said Van der Vegt, chairman of the city’s Youth Olympic Games Foundation.

"Children get too little exercise and we want to change this. To make this happen, we would like to set up an event that not only inspires athletes, but young people in the Netherlands and beyond as well."

Reported by Mark Bisson

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