No plan B for 2026 Winter Games campaign

BUENOS AIRES: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has no backup plan for the 2026 Winter Games if more cities drop out of the race, IOC President Thomas Bach said on Saturday. Calgary, Stockholm and an Italian bid involving Cortina D’Ampezzo and Milan made the IOC shortlist this week, with Turkey’s Erzurum dropped.

But all three bids face major obstacles that could potentially end their candidacies. Calgary has planned a non-binding plebiscite in November which could bury the Canadian bid to host the winter Olympics for the second time since 1988 as early as next month.

The Italian bid and Stockholm have both struggled with getting crucial government support for their projects, while Torino pulled out of the Italian bid over project differences. Three other cities-Austria’s Graz, Switzerland’s Sion and Japan’s Sapporo-have dropped out in recent months, scared off by the size and cost of the Games or after facing strong local opposition to the bids.

“There is no Plan B and we will not enter into any speculation,” Bach told reporters when asked about what the IOC would do if more cities dropped out ahead of next year’s vote for the 2026 Games host.

Bach said although there was a need to continue with cost-reducing measures for the Olympics, especially the Winter Games, there was still strong demand for them. “We have more than a dozen sports who would like to join Olympic programme,” he said in the Argentine capital ahead of the opening ceremony of the Youth Olympics.

“Quite a number of interested cities, big number of interested cities (for the 2032 summer Games). We should not be worried for the future.” — Reuters