(ATR) Swiss football club FC Sion owner Christian Constantin submitted a 40-page dossier to the cantonal government of Valais proposing a bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Reports surfaced in December that the capital of Valais would be interested in making a fourth attempt to bring the Games to the region. Sion unsuccessfully bid for the Winter Olympics in 1972, 2002 and 2006.
A bid from the region would likely use competition venues dispersed throughout Switzerland, with the Olympic capital Lausanne as one of the locations. Lausanne will host the Youth Olympic Games in 2020 and could reuse some of the venues for the Olympics.
The proposed bid is still in the development stages and has a long road ahead before a letter of intent is sent to the IOC by the September 2017 deadline.
First, both the cantonal government and the Swiss Olympic Committee must approve the application. Then, the proposal would be sent to a referendum where citizens could vote to approve or deny the bid.
The citizens of Valais have shown approval for the last three Olympic bids that went to a referendum. The only Olympic proposal not to receive the support of the region was the city’s first attempt at the Games in 1968.
The most recent attempt for a Swiss Olympic bid came from the canton of Grisons for the 2022 Winter Games. The proposal was voted down by the public with 53 percent of voters against it.
Switzerland has hosted the Winter Olympics twice before, both at St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948.
The IOC will choose the host of the 2026 Games at the 131st IOC Session in 2019.
French Government Kicks Funds to Olympic Bid
The Ministry of Sports in France will contribute $11 million to the city’s campaign to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, according to Secretary of State for Sports Thierry Braillard.
The funds will be contributed by the National Sport Development Center as part of the center’s approximately $300 million budget for 2016.
The Paris 2024 bid team has estimated a cost of $60 million to successfully campaign for the hosting rights.
The bid will use both private and public money to fund the campaign, with the governments of the Île-de-France region, the city of Paris and the state each contributing $10 million. The remaining $30 million will be raised by the Sport Movement.
The Sport Movement created a crowd-funding campaign on Friday to begin raising the money. The crowd-funding campaign has already raised nearly $200,000.
The IOC will choose the host of the 2024 Games in Lima, Peru in 2017.
Written by Kevin Nutley
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
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”
