The Eagle flying in for rally ahead of Olympic vote
British ski jumper among athletes taking part in ‘Yes’ event ahead of bid plebiscite
Michael (Eddie the Eagle) Edwards took flight on the international stage in 1988 at the Calgary Olympics as the first Olympic ski jumper from Britain — a moment he says he can remember vividly.
It’s those memories that Edwards says he will bring to Calgary for a Monday afternoon proOlympics rally.
“I can still remember it like it was yesterday, even though it happened 30 years ago,” Edwards said from a U.K. hotel room.
“I think Calgary was a very, very special Olympics, so I just want to celebrate that and use that to help promote Calgary going forward with another Olympic bid.
“It can transform your life — it certainly transformed my life.”
The rally, to be held at the Telus Convention Centre, will also feature Calgary’s 1988 Olympic mascots Hidy and Howdy and other Olympians in Donovan Bailey, along with video from Olympic skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.
The privately-funded free event featuring speeches, a questionand-answer period and other entertainment will be held between noon and 1 p.m. in the centre’s North Hall.
Edwards, who said he was approached a few weeks ago to come to Calgary, said he thought it would be great for the city to host another Games.
“The whole city will volunteer to make it a successful bid … I think they should make a bid and I think they ’ll be very successful,” he said, adding that not having ski jumps or a new arena in a bid is a good thing.
“In a way, it’s quite good because Canada doesn’t need too many ski jumps because they’re not huge in the ski jumping sport. So I think if they can save money by using existing facilities, so be it.”
Andy McCreath and his business partner Christian Darbyshire are the pair who assembled the all-star lineup for the rally.
“We’ve produced events across Canada for the last 15 years and we just wanted to bring all the groups together into one massive event that was the ‘Yes’ movement,” said McCreath
The rally is to take place a day before advance polls open for the plebiscite on whether Calgary should bid on the 2026 Winter Olympics, and a week before the Nov. 13 public vote.
I can still remember it like it was yesterday, even though it happened 30 years ago. I think Calgary was a very, very special Olympics.
“It was kind of touch-and-go this week with the vote at city hall, so now, what Christian and I are excited about is everybody supporting the Yes movement is coming out of the woodwork in the last couple days,” McCreath said.
“If you look back and think of 1988 and what a great time that was for Calgary and a great time to host the Olympics, it’s time to create a new legacy for the city and new memories.”