(ATR) A unanimous vote from the Swiss Parliament of Sport means that Sion is the official bid city for Switzerland in the 2026 Olympic race.
Sion cleared the final hurdle needed to gain official approval, having already securing a vote from the Swiss Olympic executive council last month. After the vote Swiss Olympic told Around the Rings that the group had pledged $7.9 million for the bid’s budget, one-third of the cost.
"This clear message from Swiss sport is very important to us; it shows that the foundations of the Sion 2026 project are solid," Jürg Stahl, president of Swiss Olympic, said in a statement. "It is also important to us as we are entering the next stage of the project, which is to gather federal support."
Sion was one of five projects at the beginning of the selection process within Switzerland. Eventually, the projects merged into two bids, the Sion/Western Switzerland bid as well as one centered in the Canton of Graubünden. The Graubünden bid was defeated by a public referendum in February for the second straight bidding cycle.
Now, Sion organizers must finalize a presentation to government partners in Switzerland later this year. The Sion bid includes events in the cantons of Berne, Fribourg, Vaud, and Valais to ease the Games’ costs.
Swiss Olympic organizers told ATR after the executive council vote to not rule out a public referendum associated with the Sion bid. The bid avoided a referendum ahead of the Swiss Parliament of Sport vote, but cannot assume one will not be forthcoming.
"We’re not really worried [about a referendum]; we want the people to be involved and we wouldn’t want to organize an Olympic Games without asking if the people agree," a Swiss Olympic spokesperson said. "We assume there will be a referendum in Valais but it’s not sure."
The 2026 bid cycle is expected to be opened by the IOC after the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics.Calgary, Innsbruck, Sapporo, Stockholm, and a potential Norwegian bid are expected to make decisions on whether to bid for the 2026 Games in the coming months.
A host for the 2026 Games will be decided at the 2019 IOC Session.
Written by Aaron Bauer
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