(ATR) Thomas Bach says the victory of Milan-Cortina for the 2026 Olympics may have rested on public support.
Italy’s bid was selected by a 47-34 vote over Stockholm-Are.
"This is a great day," Bach said of the result. He likes the notion of the Winter Olympics returning to a "traditional" winter sport country. PyeongChang hosted in 2018 and Beijing will be hosting the 2022 Winter Games.
"What was impressive today was the focus of both candidatures of Stockholm-Are and Milan-Cortina on the reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020," Bach told Around the RIngs Monday night following the IOC vote in Lausanne.
"The difference I think in the end..I cannot look into the heads of my colleagues, but I guess the difference was made in the gap in the public support with 83 percent in Italy and 55 percent in Sweden. I could imagine that this for many of the colleagues may have made the difference.
"It was a close vote, a good race," he said.
IOC member from Argentina Gerardo Werthein agreed with Bach, saying that public support for the Italian bid had been "a big driver’ and noting "that the (Stockholm) bid didn’t have the support of the main city."
While other cities formally backed the Stockholm bid, the municipal government said it was not able to sign the host city agreementwith the IOC.
U.S. member Anita DeFrantz, IOC member from the United States, sounded disappointed that the Stockholm bid's adherence to the precepts of Olympic Agenda 2020 and the so-called New Norm were overlooked. Both policies are aimed at reducing the cost and complexity of the Games.
"For me it's painful because it hurts, I know how it hurts not to win which is not the same as losing but it hurts," she told ATR.
But she says Milanwill deliver solid Olympic Games.
"The IOC never makes a mistake. The Games happen and that's the bottom line. We want to make sure the athletes who have trained so long and so hard actually have Games to compete in," says DeFrantz.
IOC member and International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons says the IOC decision could have gone either way.
"Both bids had very strong Paralympic elements in it. But only one can win. Milan-Cortina they won, we have a very strong Paralympic presence in Italy. This Paralympic project is a very good one," Parsons tells ATR.
"They were very strong bids the two of them. It's difficult, Is this a missed opportunity with Sweden? Well it would have been the other way around. We understand they are really sad tonight," he said.
IOC member in the U.K. Craig Reedie shared his condolences to Stockholm.
"Personally I always have sympathy for Stockholm. It's a lovely city and winter sport is in its DNA. I thought it presented itself beautifully. Oh well," Reedie said.
Reported in Lausanne by Ed Hula.
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