ATR First: 2026 OIympic Bids Limit SportAccord Travel

(ATR) Milan-Cortina and Stockholm-Are are poised to save tens of thousands of dollars, Australian or otherwise, by not sending full teams to the SportAccord Convention next month in Gold Coast, Queensland.

The two bids for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games will present their plans in private via video link during the meeting of the Association of International Olympic Winter Federations taking place May 7 on the sidelines of SportAccord.

Customarily, the active Olympic bidders, whether the timing is for summer or winter, send a team to the SportAccord Convention which precedes the IOC vote. For the 2026 contest that vote is coming June 24 in Lausanne.

But with the bids down to only two cities for 2026 coupled with efforts to keep the costs and complexities to a minimum, both Stockholm and Milan have agreed that it is best to present their case by video link.

The presentation is the second of only two international events where the bid cities have been permitted to campaign by IOC rules. But unlike the first appearance, at the Association of National Olympic Committees general assembly last November, the presentation in Australia to the winter federations will not be public.

Stockholm will send two representatives to Gold Coast, bid CEO Richard Brisius and Mats Arjes, president of the Swedish NOC.

Italian National Olympic Committee Secretary General Carlo Mornati will be the sole representative of the 2026 Milan bid at SportAccord. The long trip to Australia should provide some happy memories for Mornati, a silver medalist in rowing at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

For the presentation to the winter federations, the Italian bid will gather the various stakeholders to make their pitch from Rome.

A similar video conference link will be set up with Stockholm.

Reported byEd Hula. For general comments or questions,click here.