Another 2026 Referendum on the Horizon

(ATR) The Austrian Communist Party says it has collected enough signatures to trigger a referendum on the 2026 Olympic project in Graz.

City Councilor Elke Kahr said the party’s collection of signatures was a success for anti-Olympics organizers who have been working for months.

"Obviously the pressure from [citizens] was big enough," Kahr said in a statement on the party website. "In any case, it is important that the referendum takes place before the candidate status for Graz is decided, so that unnecessary expenditure on the city can be avoided as far as possible."

The communist party in Graz has argued that any pursuit of an Olympic bid should require a referendum if public funds would be used to stage the Games. Recently, a feasibility study done in Austria showed that a 2026 bid was "absolutely feasible" without public money, but conceded that public money would be needed for security.

Graz is Austria’s second attempt to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. A bid from Innsbruck was voted down in a referendum. The 2026 bid cycle has already featured three referendum-sinking bids, with voters from Graubünden and Sion in Switzerland also voting against staging the Olympics.

Calgary will hold a plebiscite later this year as it continues the process of forming a bid committee. The vote was a condition to accepting funding from the Alberta government. So far groups for and against the Games have begun lobbying efforts to convince voters. The plebiscite is expected to be held around November.

Host City Contract Published

The IOC has posted the host city contract, which will be signed by the eventual 2026 host city.

The document can be read here. The document release is part of the IOC’s "New Norm" bidding process which is supposed to be more transparent. The contract estimates theIOC contribution for the 2026 Games at $925 million.

"This is another significant step in making the Olympic and Paralympic Games a reality for the communities that have the ambition of hosting the world’s biggest sporting event," Christophe Dubi, IOC Executive Director, said in a statement about the release.

"We are enabling the organisation of Games that will be sustainable and create lasting legacies for their citizens, while also reducing complexity and costs."

Canadian Olympic Anniversary

As Calgary continues its bid for the 2026 Olympics, its leadership recognized a milestone in Canadian bid history.

Fifteen years ago Vancouver was selected as host of the 2010 Winter Olympics at the 2003 IOC Session in Prague.

"July 2, 2003, was a history-making day for Vancouver, British Columbia, and Canada, and we have the same opportunity in front of us once again with a potential Calgary bid," Scott Hutcheson, Chair of the Calgary 2026 bid corporation said in a statement. "There are so many incredible memories entrenched in the hearts and minds of Canadians – from where we were on this day 15 years ago, to celebrating on the streets in all corners of the country on the final day of those Games in Vancouver after Sidney Crosby’s golden goal."

Like Calgary, the Vancouver bid dealt with a local plebiscite. The vote in February 2003 showed more than 60 percent of the city’s residents were in favor of hosting the Games. Five months later Vancouver defeated PyeongChang in a tightly contested 56-53 vote at the IOC Session in Prague.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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