Sapporo Willing to Host in 2026 or 2030

(ATR) Sapporo would love to host the Winter Olympics "in the near future", whether it’s in 2026 or 2030.

The city’s director general for sport, Toshiya Ishikawa, tells Around the Rings "We are thinking about not only in 2026 but also 2030 as well. We are thinking of the possibility of both."

The flexibility being offered by the 1972 Winter Games host city is probably music to the ears of the IOC, since a winning bid by Sapporo would mean three straight Winter Games in Asia.

The Sapporo bid team is well aware that the biggest obstacle to winning the 2026 bid is that PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022 are already hosting.

"We understand that many people are thinking that it’s not a good idea to have the Olympics in Asia so many times," Ishikawa said. "We also think that it’s very important to (have) the continental balance for hosting Games. So we are looking into the situation."

Ishikawa tells ATR there is one overriding reason for Sapporo's interest in hosting a second Winter Games.

"The IOC said that Winter Olympic Games should be hosted by traditional winter sports cities. We understand that the city of Sapporo is a traditional winter sports city in Asia. We want to be the traditional city not only back before but in the future as well. That’s why we are thinking of hosting the games."

There are no plans for a referendum on a Sapporo bid. A poll conducted a year ago showed 66.7 percent for the bid, according to Ishikawa, who believes that hosting the Asian Winter Games a year ago helped.

"Enjoying those Games was good and now here (PyeongChang), the Japanese team is doing very well, so maybe many more people will support our Olympic bid."

The Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) signed off on the project in November, a year after the Sapporo government presented its plan to the JOC.

That plan was completed months before the IOC unveiled new guidelines last summer to lower the cost of both bidding for and hosting an Olympic Games. Ishikawa says the Sapporo bid team is currently "reconstructing our plan to reduce the costs in line" with the new bidding process.

Ishikawa talked with ATR after spending the first week of the Games working with the IOC as part of Sapporo’s Observer Team in PyeongChang. He called the experience "very beneficial" in helping Sapporo with its organizing plan.

As for how he feels about the bid, Ishikawa says his confidence level is the same now as it was before he arrived in PyeongChang – high.

Written and reported by Gerard Farekin Gangneung

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