(ATR) Calgary’s 2026 bid won’t be receiving any additional funding from the IOC, at least for now.
An IOC delegation led by Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi and Hannah Burns, Head of Promotion, Olympic Games and Olympic Candidatures, is visiting Calgary for the first time since it was selected as a candidate city for the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Ahead of their visit, the leader of the provincial government In Alberta and the mayor of Calgary were among those suggesting that the IOC make up any shortages in the required CAN $3 billion (US $2.3 billion) public contribution to the Games.
But Dubi, during a news conference at the Canada Olympic Park on Wednesday, threw cold water on that possibility. He said the US $925 million (CAN $1.2 billion) the IOC has already promised to the Calgary bid is "what we can commit at this point in time".
He added that there might be more funds available should the IOC make more money from its commercial contracts. "Anything in the future we could generate over and above, the organizing committee would benefit as well."
The three levels of government were expected to share equally in covering the public cost. But the provincial government has promised only CAN $700 million. The city of Calgary is balking at paying more than the province while the federal government in Ottawa will only pay up to CAN$1.5 billion. Neither the city nor the federal government has announced a monetary commitment with less than three weeks to go before the Nov. 13 plebiscite.
Calgary 2026 bid CEO Mary Moran admitted that the lack of definitive numbers makes it more difficult to promote the bid to Calgarians. But she emphasized the number voters should keep in mind is CAN $4.4 billion, the amount of money the bid says will be coming into the community if Calgary wins the right to host.
The IOC is doing its part in stumping for the bid, meeting with indigenous groups, politicians, Calgarians and business leaders on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Dubi says "risk and cost overruns" are the two biggest misconceptions that are being portrayed by anti-Olympics groups in Calgary.
He believes there is little risk, given that Calgary, the 1988 Winter Games host, has such a strong foundation. "I think here you have it all, you have the expertise, you have the experience, you have the regular hosting and you have the venues," he said.
As for potential cost overruns, Dubi believes Calgary 2026 "has been extremely detailed in its work and that gives you safety about the cost. Because the numbers they are pulling right now are not made up. These are bottom up, researched numbers, 30,000+ lines of budget."
Written by Gerard Farek
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