(ATR) Those trying to bring the Winter Olympics back to Calgary, Canada say they are not worried by issues with their competition.
On Wednesday, Stockholm’s interest in the 2026 Winter Games took a hit when the Social Democrats, the majority in a four-party system in the Stockholm city government, announced the Swedish capital was exiting the race.
However, Swedish Olympic Committee's chief executive Peter Reinebo told Around The Rings that Stockholm's potential bid to host the 2026 Winter Games is NOT dead.
The Swedish NOC calls the announcement by the Social Democrats as "hasty and probably based on unclear facts".
Dead or not, those in Calgary, Alberta say they are focused on their own exploratory committee’s work studying the feasibility of bringing the Olympics back to the city for the first time since the 1988 Games.
"We're at a point now where we're determining the factors of whether or not an Olympic Games really fits into Calgary's vision for its future and that's what we're focused on right now," said committee spokesperson Sean Beardow, according to CBC News.
Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi agrees their determination can’t rely on the outcomes of its competitors.
"If we move forward to a bid, it has to be a great bid," he said to the CBC. "It doesn't matter who is bidding against us… We have to have the best possible bid so the competitive thing is irrelevant."
The exploratory committee will present its findings to the Calgary City Council in July where a determination on launching a 2026 bid will be made.
Thus far, Switzerland is the only country to officially enter the 2026 race with a bid centered in Sion. Former Winter Olympic host cities Innsbruck, Lillehammer and Sapporo along with Erzurum, Turkey are also contemplating an Olympic bid.
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 Kevin Nutley
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