THE BIG PICTURE: IOC evaluation shows more (a lot more) confidence in Italy...
The International Olympic Committee’s Evaluation Commission released its report on the two candidates for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, with considerably excitement over the Milan-Cortina bid and not so much for Stockhom-Are. The 144-page report profiled each bid in specific areas including Games Concept, Games Experience, Paralympic Games and Games Delivery. There was no numeric […]
THE BIG PICTURE: Swedish government gets behind the Stockholm-Are bid … sort of
In what was essentially a fish-or-cut bait scenario, the Swedish national government finally indicated that it would supply the necessary guarantees to support the Stockholm-Are bid, with a formal announcement coming soon. Following up on the support announced by the Italian government for the Milan-Cortina bid last week, the Swedish reply was muted. While the […]
THE BIG PICTURE: Italian government to agree to modest support program for Milan-Cortina...
The key, distinguishing feature of the bid process for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games is the lack of national funding guarantees for either of the candidates: Stockholm-Are in Sweden or Milan-Cortina in Italy. Without any other choices, the International Olympic Committee is moving ahead with the procedure, to select one of the two as host, […]
LANE ONE: Thomas Bach’s IOC wants “to get the couch potatoes off the...
The focus of the Olympic Movement has changed. It was, until very recently, to stage the greatest sports spectacle in the world. But in a 54-minute news conference following the second day of International Olympic Committee Executive Board meetings, IOC chief Thomas Bach clearly signaled that the technical organization of the Games will more and […]
LANE ONE: Crucial IOC Executive Board meeting this week in Switzerland could impact...
We’re going to have some interesting days starting on Tuesday as the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board meets in Lausanne (SUI). A series of issues which have been simmering for months might come to a boil … or maybe not. But there is a lot of interest in what the IOC is going to do […]
LANE ONE: Burger King is not an Olympic sponsor, but it has the...
This is a busy time for the leadership and staff of the International Olympic Committee, even though there is no Olympic Games – winter or summer – in 2019. The IOC and especially the Executive Board have a long list of issues to be dealt with, including the continuing saga of Russia and its standing […]
SPEED READ: Headlines from The Sports Examiner for Friday, 18 January 2019
Welcome to The Sports Examiner SPEED READ, a 100 mph (44.7 m/s) review of the week (so far) in the turbulent world of international sport: LANE ONE: Wednesday: There really is a change going on in Olympic bidding, if you believe what the Milan-Cortina bid has in their presentation submitted on 11 January. Its organizing […]
THE BIG PICTURE: Stockholm-Are and Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo submit bids for 2026 Winter Games
After five potential bid cities all left the scene, there were two bidders who actually submitted the formal documentation to the International Olympic Committee last Friday (11th) for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. There are issues with both, but Stockholm-Are (SWE) and the combined Milan-Cortina d’Ampezzo (ITA) bid are both in the game, with the […]
LANE ONE: Ready for chaos? This might be the year for it in...
If you thought 2018 was a rough year for the Olympic Movement, in board rooms, courtrooms and the halls of the U.S. Congress, get your seat belts fastened for an even rockier ride in 2019. At the start of the year, there are already more than a handful of issues set to explode (or implode, […]
5-RING CIRCUS: Calgary ends its 2026 Winter Games bid
The Calgary bid for the 2026 Winter Games was officially “suspended” by a 15-0 vote of the City Council, following the defeat of the citywide referendum last week. The GamesBids.com site noted that only two bids – Stockholm (SWE) and Milan-Cortina (ITA) – remain as bidders from the seven cities which originally signaled serious interest […]
THE BIG PICTURE: What happens now in Calgary?
The International Olympic Committee reacted to the public rejection of Calgary’s plan to bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games last Tuesday with a shrug, and will carry on with the bids from Italy and Sweden. “It comes as no surprise following the political discussions and uncertainties right up until the last few days,” the […]
THE 5-RING CIRCUS: Calgary’s new problem is how to fund venue maintenance
The Calgary bid is dead, and one of the results is that no Games funding will become available for the repairs already needed to the winter sports facilities used for the 1988 Games and now 20 years old. A Canada.com story detailed the issue after the defeat of the bid referendum in Calgary, noting that […]
LANE ONE: Calgary turns away from the 2026 Winter Games by 56-44%
It took a long time to get everyone in who wanted to vote, but Elections Calgary finally announced the results of the city’s referendum on whether Calgary should bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games at 9:58 p.m. Tuesday night: • YES: 132,832 (43.6%) • NO: 171,750 (56.4%) That’s a total of 304,774 ballots cast, a turnout […]
LANE ONE: Fasten your seat belt: The Olympic Movement has a rough November...
This promises to be a turbulent week for the Olympic Movement with two major off-the-field events taking place in Canada and Azerbaijan and at the end of the month in Japan: • 13 November (Tuesday): Referendum on the city’s bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary (CAN). • 15 November (Thursday): Meeting of the World […]
LANE ONE: Calgary 2026 bid comes back from the dead … on Halloween!
On Wednesday, the Calgary City Council voted 8-7 to kill the city’s bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games and yet the bid still lives on and will continue to a public vote on 13 November. How? Because the Council motion to kill the bid required a two-thirds vote – a 10-5 margin – the […]
LANE ONE: The numbers: Canada, Alberta and Calgary say the 2026 Games are...
The best summary of a wild day of rumors and reporting on Tuesday about whether the Calgary bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games would continue came from the Canadian Press: “A Calgary bid for the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games appears virtually dead unless a financial rabbit is pulled out of a hat.” […]
LANE ONE: Realpolitik in Calgary as Mayor Nehshi could end its 2026 bid...
Whether Calgary continues its bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games has come down to a question of money. And the bid could end on Monday. The Calgary 2026 Bid Corporation’s Draft Hosting Plan Concept projected the total cost of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games and Winter Paralympic Games at about C$5.46 billion. (C$1 = […]
5-RING CIRCUS: It’s getting louder in Calgary
The decibel level in Calgary about its potential bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games is getting higher. In the aftermath of the Province of Alberta announcing that it would contribute not more than C$700 million, instead of the C$1 billion hoped for in the Calgary 2026 Draft Hosting Plan Concept, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi […]
THE BIG PICTURE: Stockholm’s 2026 bid clouded by lack of government support
Now the issue is Stockholm. A new, coalition government in the City Council announced last Friday that it would not support funding for a Stockholm bid for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, and that any bid for the Games would have to be financed from the private sector. Stockholm’s bid team, however, is hardly backing […]
5-RING CIRCUS: Alberta pledges C$700 million for Calgary 2026, but no more
Along with the drama in Stockholm, where the city’s 2026 bid will not have municipal government financial support, there was a significant development in Calgary’s 2026 bid. The provincial government of Alberta agreed to support the 2026 Games bid and the staging of the Games in Calgary, and will contribute C$700 million (~$538 million U.S.), […]
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