Vienna 2028 Olympic Bid Dream Ends

(ATR) Voters in Vienna said no to a possible bid for the 2028 summer Games.

Referendum results announced Tuesday showed a clear rejection of the bid ambitions proposed by Vienna mayor Michael Häupl – 72 percent, or 212,672 city residents opposed the plan.

Only 28 percent (82,940 votes) were in favor, according to Austrian media reports.

The turnout for the vote was just 29.5 percent. Postal votes are not expected to have any major impact on the results.

Whether Vienna should bid was one of four questions in the referendum about city issues, the others unrelated to the Olympics.

Discussions of $130 million Olympic bidding costs by politicians in Häupl’s party appeared to have nixed the mayor’s aspirations.

Comments from Austrian Olympic Committee secretary general Peter Mennel to Around the Rings suggested the results of the public opinion poll on a summer Games were expected.

"It’smainly a political issue, so the politicians in charge have to judge and comment on the poll," he said.

"Of course we do accept the votes, but we would be pleased if the City of Vienna still invests in sports infrastructure in order that our top athletes do have first-class facilities."

He added: "We would like to see Vienna bidding for other big international sports events, as this would be a boost for our sports scene and for the city."

Mennel said the results do not open any doors for future Winter Olympic bids. Salzburg bid for the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.

"Our next goal is to host the European Olympic Youth Winter Festival in 2015 in Montafon, together with Liechtenstein," he said.

Reported by Mark Bisson.

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