Calgary 2026 Committee Releases Interim Report

(ATR) The release of an interim report on whether Calgary should bid for the 2026 Olympic Games produces no early decision.

The Calgary Bid Exploration Committee (CBEC) made the report public on Monday.

While the committee is not ready to present any bid recommendations, chair Rick Hanson told a press conference the costs would be less than past Winter Olympics that required $3.2 billion in funding, according to Calgary's 660 News.

Hanson attributes that to the number of existing facilities and the ability to cluster events to lessen security costs.

"Whatever decision is made, we’re going forward with the full knowledge of what is required to do this or not," he said. "If it’s a no, it’s because of good, solid reasons people can look at and say ‘that makes sense’. If it’s a yes, it looks like we can do this, it’s because people will have the numbers right in front of them that will answer their questions."

The exploratory committee will present its final report and recommendation to the Calgary City Council in July. The Council will then have the final say in the bid decision.

Thus far, Switzerland is the only country to officially enter the 2026 race with a bid centered in Sion. Former Winter Olympic host cities Calgary, Innsbruck, Lillehammer and Sapporo are all contemplating a bid along with Erzurum, Turkey. Stockholm’s bid appears dead after the city’s government announced last week that it would not support it.

The 2026 bid cycle is expected to be opened by the IOC prior to the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang next February. A host for the 2026 Games will be decided at the 2019 IOC Session.

Written by Gerard Farek

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