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.), […]
LANE ONE: Disconnected: Host city CEOs and the IOC on why anyone should...
Over the course of two days last week, a vice president of the International Olympic Committee and two chief executives of successful Olympic and Winter Games were asked about the benefits of hosting an Olympic Games. Amazingly, the three comments had very little in common. Here’s what they said: ∙ Juan Antonio Samaranch, IOC Vice […]
IOC: Session approves new members, refugee team and YOG to Senegal
A lot of activity during the final day of the IOC’s Session in Buenos Aires (ARG), including: ∙ Election of nine new members, including six presidents of National Olympic Committees, from Bhutan, Italy, Lithuania, Paraguay, Rwanda and Uganda, and the president of the International Gymnastics Federation, Morinari Watanbe (JPN) and the head of the International […]
THE 5-RING CIRCUS: Calgary, Milan-Cortina and Stockholm recommended for 2026 Winter Games
The International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board recommended that the full membership extend invitations to compete for the 2026 Games to three candidates: Calgary (CAN), Milan-Cortina (ITA) and Stockholm (SWE). Left out was Erzurum (TUR), of which the IOC’s Working Group noted “The concentration of investment in general infrastructure such as accommodation, transport, energy and telecoms […]
THE 5-RING CIRCUS: No federal funds for Italy’s 2026 Winter bid project
Now the reformulated Milan-Cortina bid from Italy appears to be in trouble. Italian Undersecretary of State at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers Giancarlo Giorgetti has been the liaison with the bid efforts and according to local media reports noted on GamesBids.com, said on Friday that “We welcome the realization of the Olympic Games […]
LANE ONE: IOC starts answering its bid problems with Allianz sponsorship
It’s no secret that the International Olympic Committee has a “trust” problem. Communities, especially in Europe, have demonstrated via political actions and referenda, that having the Olympic Games in their country or region is not worth the effort. The primary reason given is always money, but the underlying reason is trust. That is, that the […]
THE BIG PICTURE: “Don’t even consider building a venue if there is not...
Although not designed as an activist organization, the Associated Press is keeping the pressure on officials of the Gangwon Province in Korea with a story on Wednesday headlined “Costly Pyeongchang Olympic venues could eventually be razed.” The story outlined the continuing issues over the future of the alpine skiing course, the hockey and skating arenas, […]
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