(ATR) Swedish Olympic and Paralympic representatives meet with politicians to shore up government support for the Stockholm 2026 Olympic bid.
Stockholm bid leader Richard Brisius says talks with the city’s mayor, vice mayor and other politicians last week were an important start.
"It was a constructive and positive meeting allowing us to inform, ask questions and discuss all the changes and new ways of arranging the Olympic Games," Brisius said in a statement on Monday. "It was a good meeting and it felt like it was the start of a collaborative process that will continue in the future."
Next up are meetings with the Culture Committee in Swedish Parliament.
"On December 6, we will have the opportunity to meet the entire Culture Committee at the same time to hold a presentation around 2026, about the state of the bid and the prospects," Swedish Olympic Committee (SOK) Operations Manager Peter Reinebo says.
"This is valuable to us, because then everyone hears our message at the same time and there will be opportunities for questions and opinions."
Reinebo stresses that there have already been plenty of smaller meetings between the SOK and various representatives in both the political and sporting arenas.
"Both methods, to inform key stakeholders one by one, and to meet a formal committee at the same time, are important. It is an ongoing job that we think will go on continuously in the coming six months. It is positive that they want to meet us together, because it shows that the 2026 bid proposal is relevant and interesting to them."
Reinebo says while there is still much work to be done, the sentiment surrounding the 2026 bid status "feels very good" right now.
The Swedish elections in September have thrown a wrench into the process, with Stockholm's new center-right coalition city government coming out against an Olympic bid. The previous government had supported it.
Earlier this month, IOC Executive Director Christophe Dubi told reporters in Sweden that there are "no particular worries" about securing government support for the Stockholm bid.
Sweden has only hosted one Olympic Games, back in 1912, though Stockholm did host the equestrian events for the Melbourne Games in 1956. Sweden has the most Winter Games gold medals of any country to have never hosted the event. The 2026 bid team emphasizes that 90 percent of the facilities are already in place. Stockholm would be home for most of them, but the bid also includes winter venues in Åre, Falun, and the Latvian city of Sigulda, where the sliding events would be held.
Stockholm and Milan/Cortina, the only remaining candidates in the 2026 bid race, will make the first of only two international presentations at the ANOC General Assembly in Tokyo on Thursday.
The other is at the meeting of the Association of International Olympic Winter Federations at the SportAccord Convention in Australia next April.
The IOC is scheduled to vote on a 2026 host June 24 at the session in Lausanne.
Homepage photo: Swedish Olympic Committee
Written by Gerard Farek
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