(ATR) The final push is on to convince voters in Innsbruck and the surrounding Tyrol region to support a bid for the 2026 Winter Games.
The referendum is this Sunday, Oct. 15, and bid supporters are using events, public informational briefings and almost daily press briefings to make sure voters have all the information they need to make a well-informed decision. The so-called "Olympic Roadshow" has been touring the region over the past weeks, featuring many Olympic champions.
"We are positive that the Tyrol vote will be in favor for the Olympics," Austria Olympic Committee (OOC) President Karl Stoss said in a statement to Around the Rings. "Olympic Gold Medal winners like Benjamin Raich [Alpine skiing] and Toni Innauer [ski jumping] are helping us, spreading the arguments, talking about the Olympic dimension and the Olympic spirit."
The central focus of the bid is to keep costs down by making extensive use of existing venues in the region as well as in southern Germany. No new permanent sporting structures are needed, with temporary facilities planned for snowboard, freestyle skiing and Big Air snowboard.
"We do have strong arguments about the positive impact of sustainable Winter Games with existing venues," Stoss said, adding "we do believe that Tyrol has the expertise and know-how to stage sustainable Games."
Innsbruck hosted the Winter Games in 1964 and 1976 but voters in the city torpedoed potential bids for 2002 and 2006 in separate referendums in the 1990’s. The city did host the 2012 Youth Olympic Winter Games.
The future of the Swiss bid for 2026 could also be determined in the next few days. If the Swiss Federal Council, the equivalent of the executive board of the Swiss federal government, decides not to support the bid then Sion’s dreams of hosting will be dead.
A possible 2026 bid is on the agenda at the United States Olympic Committee's Board of Directors meeting later this week. USOC officials said late last month that several U.S. cities have expressed interest in hosting the Games.
Other cities contemplating a bid for 2026 include former Winter Olympic host cities Calgary, Lillehammer and Sapporo along with Stockholm and newcomer Erzurum, Turkey.
The 2018 and 2022 Winter Games are in Asia, making Europe or North America a more likely spot for 2026. IOC President Thomas Bach has publicly stated he wants the Winter Games to return to a more traditional location.
The IOC’s new bidding procedure went into effect at the beginning of October, with the opening of the year-long invitation phase for cities interesting in hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Written by Gerard Farek
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