(ATR) The odds of Stockholm staging the 2026 Winter Games are improving.
The Swedish Olympic Committee announced Friday that a feasibility study by the city shows that a bid "is both possible and desirable" .
Swedish NOC chairman Hans Vestberg says the next step is to "look at the city’s proposal and then develop a concept that is both sustainable and that can win a Winter Olympics in Stockholm and Sweden".
A decision by the Stockholm city council on whether to support a bid is expected "before the summer". An application to the IOC to introduce Stockholm as a candidate city would then be made by the Swedish NOC in March of 2018, provided the application is given the go ahead by state and local governments as well as the NOC’s members and the country’s winter sports federations.
The Swedish NOC’s chief executive Peter Reinebo told Around the Rings last week that a Stockholm Olympic bid is better placed to succeed than the city's failed quest for the 2022 Games.
This time around, the city and national governments are run by the Social Democrats, who broadly support the bid plan.
Stockholm’s 2022 bid was derailed by a lack of political support and financial guarantees for a campaign led by the country’s sporting movement.
"There is much more time and awareness of the high IOC contribution. There is no rush like last time and the communications from the Olympic Movement is more positive with Agenda 2020. That is a big difference," Reinebo said to ATR.
The Swedish NOC leader said a Stockholm bid would be a one-city concept with the capital staging a large portion of events. Alpine ski racing would be staged at Åre, which is about 400 miles (600 kilometers) from the capital.
The IOC is expected to issue guidelines to prospective 2026 bidders in February, with candidatures due in spring next year soon after the PyeongChang 2018 Games.
Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Austria and Japan are also mulling bids for the 2026 Winter Games.
Written by Gerard Farekand Mark Bisson
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