The Association for a Swiss Olympic Bid Sion 2026 takes note that the citizens of Valais have rejected the proposal that the Canton provide financial support for hosting the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Sion. 53,98% of voters rejected the funding proposal submitted to the popular vote on Sunday June 10th.
Sion 2026 is sorry that the Valais citizens have rejected a project that would have generated significant economic and social benefits for all the regions concerned, and would have enabled Switzerland to position itself on the international stage.
Sion 2026 takes note of the decision of the Canton of Valais to withdraw from the Association. "We respect the choice of the people of the Canton of Valais," said the president of Sion 2026, Jürg Stahl, "even though this refusal is painful for all those who worked tirelessly to develop an Olympic Games’ project focused on sustainable development, with a strong social and ethical commitment, fully in line with the IOC’s Agenda 2020."
The Vice-President of Sion 2026, State Councillor Frédéric Favre, noted that "he accepted the verdict of the ballot box. We knew, after the two refusals from the Canton of Graubünden and others seen abroad, that this would be a huge challenge. The only fights that are lost are those that were not fought for."
The Association for a Swiss Olympic Bid Sion 2026 will meet in the coming days to give back the mandate of a Swiss bid to Swiss Olympic and to take the decision of dissolving the Association.
The Association would like to warmly thank the Government of Valais, the City of Sion, the partner Cantons, Swiss Olympic and the Swiss Confederation for their commitment in this bid. Sion 2026 would also like to commend the great collaboration started with the IOC, which was consulted on a regular basis and played a very constructive role in the project developed by Sion 2026. Sion 2026 looks forward to celebrating the Olympic Movement at the Lausanne 2020 Youth Olympic Games.
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