(ATR) Erzurum, Turkey is officially in the race to host the 2026 Winter Olympics.
IOC member from Turkey Uğur Erdener confirmed to Around the Rings that an official letter of intent to join the dialogue phase of the 2026 bidding process has been sent to the IOC. Turkish Olympic Committee Secretary GeneralNeşe Gündoğan told ATRthat full details of the bid will be presented on April 3.
ATR understands the bid has been promoted by municipal leaders and has the backing of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Little has been heard about a Turkish bid since Erdogan announced at a campaign rally in April 2017 that Turkey was considering a bid for 2026 with the eastern provinces of Erzurum, Erzincan and Kars as hosts.
Erzurum has hosted events such as the 2017 Winter European Youth Olympic Festival but it doesn’t appear to be the traditional winter sports city that the IOC has stated it wants as a host for the 2026 Games.
On the positive side, Erdogan enjoys strong support in that part of Turkey which should help a potential bid pass muster with voters should a referendum be needed.
Turkey has never tried to host a Winter Olympics but Istanbul has failed five times in efforts to host the Summer Games, falling at various stages of the process for the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2020 Games.
Erdogan was the mayor of Istanbul during the 2004 effort and was Prime Minister of Turkey for the 2012 and 2020 campaigns.
Turkey is the third country to join the dialogue phase of the 2026 bidding process this week, joining Austria and Italy.
The Austrians, who had a bid from Innsbruck rejected by a referendum in October, are back with a joint effort from Graz and Schladming.
The Italian bid, which still needs the support of a yet to be formed national government, would have Milan and Turin as co-hosts.
Four cities - Calgary, Sapporo, Stockholm and Sion, Switzerland – have been in the dialogue phase for months.
The IOC will choose the official candidates to continue in the next phase of the process in October.
Written by Gerard Farekwith reporting from Aaron Bauer
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