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≡ SWITZERLAND 2038 ≡
“A project on the scale of the Olympic and Paralympic Games is not feasible without fundamental political support from the public sector. We are therefore grateful for the clear commitment of the Federal Council. Now we can push ahead with further work with full political support.”
That’s from Urs Lehmann, Co-President of the Swiss Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2038 association and President of the Swiss-Ski federation, after Friday’s announcement that the Swiss Federal Council agreed to support the national bid to host the 2038 Olympic Winter Games.
In November 2023, the International Olympic Committee Executive Board designated the Swiss bid for a Winter Games in the 2030s – without a specified year – into an exclusive “negotiating period” called “Privileged Dialogue”:
“The decision to invite Switzerland 203x into Privileged Dialogue is based on the very good fundamentals of the Swiss project, as presented to the Future Host Commission and discussed by the IOC EB. These are: the many existing venues; the great experience of Switzerland in hosting international winter sport events; and its role as host country of the IOC and many International Sports Federations. The vision of 203x includes interest in future Games up to 2038.
“During the Privileged Dialogue, the IOC will not engage in discussions with other potential hosts for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games 2038. In this exclusive dialogue, the IOC will ask the Interested Party to address some of the areas of the project which still require further discussion, mainly: the distribution of the venues; the funding strategy; the guarantees; and public support. The Privileged Dialogue, which will last to the end of 2027 but could end earlier if the project is ready, will give appropriate time to Switzerland 203x for any required consultation on these and other topics, to complete all the outstanding elements.”
Essentially, the Swiss concept is disassembling the Winter Games completely, without any real hub, and spreading it throughout the country was too much for the IOC. So, the discussions are continuing on how to make the 2038 bid look a bit more like a traditional Olympic Games, with some sort of a central area, or perhaps two, as with Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy for 2026.
The SwissOlympic announcement explained the government’s agreement further:
“The Federal Council has pledged political support to Swiss sport on the way to a possible Olympic candidacy. It recognizes the great added value of the Winter Games for Switzerland and local society. The Federal Council is prepared to make its contribution to clarifying further organizational and technical issues by setting up an interdepartmental working group.”
The statement noted that the cantons – regions – have already agreed to support the project, thus lining up all of the political support needed in Switzerland to move forward. This is critical given prior Winter bids which have been imploded by referenda on the local or national level.
Friday’s post also recounted the primary areas that need to work out, in concert with the IOC, “to explore and clarify open questions about financing, mobility, security, infrastructure, venues, legacy and other operational aspects. In addition, further clarifications will be made about the potential of private financing – with the aim of attracting appropriate organizations to the project.”
All signs point to a Winter Games in Switzerland in 2038, which would be third held in the country, after St. Moritz in 1928 and 1948.
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