Calgary votes in favour of continuing 2026 Olympics bid
News agency
Wednesday, April 18, 2018, 5:13 PM - Calgary will continue to explore a potential bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics after city councillors in the western Canadian city voted on Monday to keep the process alive.
The 15-member council voted 9-6 in favor of continuing the bid process, which will be overseen by a sub-committee made up of four councillors and the mayor.
"What council agreed to do today is keep exploring," Mayor of Calgary Naheed Nenshi told The Weather Network.
The vote, which comes at a time when many cities have pulled out of Olympics bids over concerns about huge costs, follows an announcement last month that the governments of Canada and the province of Alberta supported the creation of a bid corporation.
Family in front of Olympic cauldron, Vancouver, B.C. -- LeonU, Getty Images
"This is going to be a very Calgarian and a very Canadian bid," said Nenshi. "It's going to be transparent, it's going to be open, it's going to be honest, it's going to be frugal."
Cities around the world are no longer clamoring to host an Olympics. Many in recent years have removed themselves from consideration, either scared off by the size and cost of the Games or pressured by local opposition.
Of the $30 million committed to the exploration process, Calgary city council has assurance less than $1 million will be used to find out the true costs of hosting the Games – that figure is expected to be released this summer.
"If it's not a smart thing to do then let's end it in June and give the money back," said Calgary city councillor Ward Sutherland. "It didn't cost the 30 million dollars. If it makes sense, let's go ahead with the plebiscite. At least people will have the right answers to make their decision."
A bid exploration committee estimated last year that Calgary would need $2.4 billion in funding to cover the shortfall between revenue and costs if it were to host the sporting extravaganza.
The International Olympic Committee session in October will invite candidates to bid formally and a host city will be selected in September, 2019.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Ken Ferris)
-- With files from Deb Matejicka
