Calgary 2026 Olympic Subcommittee Begins Work

(ATR) The Calgary City Council subcommittee aimed at restoring public confidence in a potential Olympic bid meets for the first time.

The subcommittee appointed city councilor Evan Woolley as chair. Six city councilors and Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi comprise the subcommittee. Three of the councilors and Nenshi are on record supporting the bid, while three are opposed.

Originally only four councilors and Nenshi were part of the subcommittee, with only one of them having voted against it. The committee drew scrutiny for having an imbalance skewing those favoring hosting the Games.

"We want this process to be as open and transparent as possible," Wooley was quoted as saying by the Toronto Star. "I will strive to have as little meetings in-camera as possible, but that said, I think Calgarians can appreciate that there’s some of this work that needs to happen in confidence."

The subcommittee is tasked with forming a plebiscite question, after accepting funding from the Alberta provincial government. It also will manage any city appointments to the bid committee, as well as negotiating any agreements with the IOC and other stakeholders to the bid.

Councilors will work to come up with a neutral tone for the plebiscite question and how to engage the public on a debate for the bid.

Two major dates loom over the subcommittee as Calgary navigates the new IOC bidding process. First, in June the IOC will release its 2026 host city contract, and then in October will determine the candidate cities for the 2026 Olympics.

Calgary has seen a messy, public debate over its Olympic bid, which has survived multiple votes to stay in the race for the 2026 Games. In June the City Council will be given a detailed report on the costs of a potential 2026 Winter Olympics, and the next opportunity for the council to vote on the bid itself.

"We have a perception of bias or lack of fairness and transparency. Regardless of whether it’s real or it’s a perception, we need to address this," Druh Farrell, an opposition councilor and member of the subcommittee, said as quoted by the Star.

Calgary is competing against bids from Austria, Japan, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, and Turkey for the 2026 Games. Currently the IOC is visiting different cities as part of the dialogue phase in its bidding process.

Homepage photo: Wikimedia Commons

Written by Aaron Bauer

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