Olympic Games 2026: Establishment of a Political Support Committee

The cantons of Valais, Vaud and Friborg and the city of Sion form a political committee to support Switzerland's candidacy for the Olympic Winter Games in 2026. This committee will deal with legislative, security and And the distribution of Games funding. Its support is conditional on respect for a number of criteria, including the promotion of Olympic Games and Paralympic Games on a human scale, based on funding acceptable to the public authorities concerned and to the population. The principles and guidelines have been discussed and will be incorporated into a charter to be concluded with the Organizing Committee. For reasons of timetable, the canton of Bern has not yet been able to join the political support committee, but it can do so in the coming weeks.

A political support committee has been set up to provide support, expertise and relations to the Sion 2026 bid committee. Chaired by Frédéric Favre, Valaisan state councilor in charge of the dossier, he also chairs Philippe Leuba, The Department of Economy and Sport of the Canton of Vaud, Jean-Pierre Siggen, Director of Public Education, Culture and Sport of the Canton of Friborg and Philippe Varone, President of the City of Sion.

Members of the Political Support Committee met Jean-Philippe Rochat, Chair of the Nominating Committee. The session clarified the role and reciprocal responsibilities, which will be formalized in a charter to be concluded. If the operational management of the file remains in the hands of the project proponents, the Political Committee will be consulted in particular on the essential options of the application file which will be submitted by 31 July 2017 to the Confederation. The progress of the file will then be discussed regularly with the committee, which will be consulted in the event of a significant change.

The Political Support Committee will deal in particular with federal, cantonal and communal legislative processes, security issues and the distribution of funding. It will contribute to contacts with the Federal Council and to the resolution of problems that may arise in relations with the regions concerned. The aim is to maximize the resources and expertise available in the OG 2026 project.

Regular consultation is foreseen between the Bid Committee and the Political Support Committee. The latter shall in particular ensure respect for the principles to which its support is conditioned:

- human-sized games, using as much as possible existing infrastructure that minimizes environmental impact, is open to a wide audience and promotes values ​​such as sustainability;

- financing acceptable to the public authorities concerned;

- an important place given to the Paralympic Games;

- the promotion of the cantons concerned, in particular from the economic, innovation, tourism and education points of view;

- the development of synergies and centers of expertise;

- the use, as far as possible, of Swiss service providers and the development of the Swiss workforce;

- an ethical and transparent application.

Contact persons:

• Frédéric Favre, Head of the Department of Security, Institutions and Sport, Canton of Valais, Chairman of the Political Support Committee - 027 606 50 07

• Jean-Philippe Rochat, Chairman of the bid committee Sion 2026 - 079 210 84 23

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