(ATR) Eddie the Eagle is back in Calgary stumping for the city’s 2026 Olympic bid.
Michael "Eddie" Edwards, Britain’s first Olympic ski jumper who became an international celebrity at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary, featured prominently at a pro-Olympics rally on Monday afternoon.
Speaking first, Edwards told the crowd "I think they did such a great job 30 years ago. The Calgarians were so pleased and proud to host the Olympic Games."
He said a 2026 Games would "be bigger and better than ever before," according to a Calgary Herald reporter covering the event.
The rally, put on by YES Calgary 2026 in partnership with Tourism Calgary and the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre, also included Canadian Olympian champions Donovan Bailey and Cassie Campbell-Pascall as well as Calgary 1988 mascots Hidy and Howdy.
Jason Ribeiro, community organizer for YES Calgary 2026, said that the bid "is far from a re-do of 30 years ago. This is not nostalgia. This about honoring our past while we collectively build our future."
Two days of early voting in Calgary’s non-binding plebiscite on the Olympics begins on Tuesday, a week before the voting day of November 13.
Also on Tuesday, the town council of Canmore is to decide whether it will be a part of a potential 2026 bid. Canmore, located about 105 kilometers (65 miles) west of Calgary, is proposed to host biathlon and cross country skiing competitions as well as an athletes village for those involved in those events during the Olympics. For the Paralympics, Canmore would host Para Nordic Skiing events as well as the medal ceremonies for all of the individual Paralympic sports.
The Town of Canmore says the council will consider a number of factors in its decision, including public opinion, anticipated costs, and how being part of the bid aligns with its strategic priorities.
The Calgary City Council kept the bid alive last week, after an 11th-hour funding agreement was reached on how to pay for the public portion of the bid cost.
The federal government agreed to put in $1.423 billion in cash and the province of Alberta $700 million. Calgary is supposed to provide $370 million in cash, along with an additional $20 million to pay for $200 million in insurance to cover potential cost overruns.
Canada’s federal minister of sport said on Friday that the federal government would not be responsible for any cost overruns. The issue is just one of the details still to be worked out.
Calgary City Council has yet to begin deliberations on how to pay for its share. Eight of the 15 councillors voted to end the bid last week, two short of the two-thirds majority needed. It appears they are waiting to see if it survives the plebiscite before putting any more work into the process.
Written by Gerard Farek
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