Former B.C. premier bullish on Calgary ’26
CAMPBELL TELLS CALGARY TO GO FOR 2026 WINTER GAMES
Gordon Campbell , B.C.’s premier when Vancouver and Whistler hosted the 2010 Winter Games, says Calgary should throw its hat into the ring for 2026.
“I really hope you do it and I hope you win it and I hope I’m there for it in 2026,” Campbell told Calgary’s chamber of commerce Monday.
Campbell was B.C.’s premier from 2001 to 2011, from the bid phase to hosting the 2010 Games.
“If you get the opportunity to host an Olympics, that generates all kinds of economic opportunities,” Campbell said.
“Literally billions of dollars of investment that won’t come here if you don’t have the opportunity to host the Olympics. Billions.”
The impetus to get the 2010 Games started with the B.C. government in the late 1990s. The province was the financial guarantor for those games.
“I’m not here to tell you the Olympics will solve every problem that everyone has in this community,” Campbell said.
“They will not. They will do an awful lot to lift the community up and see the solutions that are available to them and see what they can accomplish when they do work together.”
Since the bid corporation Calgary 2026 released a draft host plan Sept. 11, campaigns for and against bidding for those games have escalated on social media accompanied by several newspaper editorials.
Calgary 2026 estimated the cost of hosting the 2026 Winter Games at $5.2 billion and asked the city, province and federal governments to cover $3 billion of that
The remainder would be paid for via games revenues.
While the cost of the 2010 Games in Vancouver and Whistler was roughly $4 billion, the B.C. government’s spending on a rail line to the airport and a convention centre that were completed in time for the games brought the total to $7.7 billion.
Calgary city council has reserved the right to pull the plug on a 2026 bid, but won’t likely do that before a Nov. 13 plebiscite asking Calgarians if they want the games again.
The International Olympic Committee executive committee meets today in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The IOC will officially invite cities to the 2026 candidature stage early next week during a general session.
The IOC’s deadline to submit 2026 bids is January. The election of the successful host city will be held September, 2019.
Against the wishes of Campbell and Vancouver organizing committee chief executive officer John Furlong, Vancouver also held a plebiscite Feb. 22, 2003 just weeks before the IOC voted for the 2010 host city.
The “Yes’’ vote prevailed with 64 per cent in favour of the games to 36 per cent against. About 46 per cent of the city’s eligible voters cast their ballot.