Sion bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics explained

Sion 2026 (German: Sitten 2026; Italian: Seduno 2026) was a proposed bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics by the city of Sion and the Swiss Olympic Association. Sion has never previously hosted the Olympics but bid for the Olympics in 1976, 2002 and 2006. The 2026 bid was withdrawn after a local referendum in which 54% of voters rejected it.[1]

History

At first, five Swiss bids were submitted to the Swiss Olympic Association: 'Sion 2026: Swiss Made Winter Games', 'Graubünden and partners 2026', 'Central Switzerland 2026', '2026 - Games for our future' and 'Switzerland 2026'.[2]

In October 2017, the Swiss government announced its support for the Sion 2026 bid.[3] The next month, a public vote was scheduled for the 10 June the next year. The bid's preliminary feasibility report predicted that bringing the Olympics to Sion would cost CHF1.86bn and produce direct revenue of CHF1.35bn.[4] The canton of Valais pledged CHF60m and the Swiss government promised to give the bid CHF995m. The Games budget was later reported to actually be CHF2.4bn by radio station RTS.[5]

In April 2018, the Swiss Olympic Association confirmed Sion as an 'interested party' in the 2026 Games.[6]

In May 2018 it was announced that the Host City Contract would be signed jointly by the canton of Valais and the city of Sion.[7]

Public vote

The plebiscite held on 10 June 2018 had 216,548 eligible voters and saw a turnout of 62.6%.[8] 71,579 people (or 53.98% of the vote) rejected the bid and 61,019 (or 46.02% of the vote) accepted it.[9] 1,049 ballots were left blank and 1,912 were invalidated.

Overall, the cities voted more strongly against the bid while the mountain provinces were more accepting. All of the cities in the canton voted to reject the bid with a majority of 55% or more except Visp which had a smaller 'no' vote, at 51%.

Philippe Varone, the mayor of Sion said that there was "no plan B" after the rejection of the bid at the public vote.[10] The Sion 2026 bid was formally ended during the Dialogue Stage of the IOC selection process, leaving six other bids still in the running: Milan, Italy; Graz, Austria; Stockholm, Sweden; Erzurum, Turkey; Sapporo, Japan and Calgary, Canada.[11] [12] Of these, three cancelled their bids in the Dialogue Stage and the Turkish bid was not invited to join the Candidature Stage, leaving the Italian and Swedish bids as the only willing hosts.[13] [14] [15] [16]

Previous bids

The last time Switzerland held an Olympic Games was the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz.[17] Sion has never previously hosted the Olympics but bid for the Olympics in 1976, 2002 and 2006.[18] [19]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Voters throw out latest Swiss bid to host Winter Olympics . Swiss Info . 21 February 2019.
  2. Web site: Five Swiss bids in sprint for 2026 Olympics . Swiss Info . 21 February 2019.
  3. Web site: Swiss gov't says it backs city of Sion's 2026 Winter Olympic bid . https://web.archive.org/web/20190225044814/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-10/19/c_136689962.htm . dead . February 25, 2019 . Xinhua Net . 22 February 2019.
  4. Web site: Butler . Nick . Swiss canton set to hold referendum on Sion 2026 bid next June . Inside the Games . 21 February 2019 . 8 November 2017.
  5. Web site: Sion Olympic costs put at more than CHF2 billion . Swiss Info . 21 February 2019.
  6. Web site: NOCs from seven countries on three continents confirm interest in staging the Olympic Winter Games 2026 . Olympic.org . 22 February 2019.
  7. Web site: Livingstone . Robert . Agreement Reached For Canton of Valais To Jointly Sign Host City Contract For Sion 2026 Olympics . Games Bids . 21 February 2019 . 8 May 2018.
  8. Web site: Votation 10 juin Sion 2026: les Valaisans disent «non» . Le Matin . 23 February 2019 . French.
  9. Web site: Das Wallis sagt Nein zu «Sion 2026»: Olympia-Kandidatur 2026 gescheitert . Aargauer Zeitung . 23 February 2019 . German.
  10. Web site: Switzerland 2026 Olympic bid rejected by public vote . NBC Sports . 21 February 2019.
  11. Web site: OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES 2026IOC WORKING GROUP REPORT . Olympic.org . 22 February 2019 . 14.
  12. Web site: Winter Olympics 2026: Sion, Switzerland out of bidding to stage event . . 24 February 2019.
  13. Web site: Ross . Tom . Calgary City Council officially cancels 2026 Olympic bid . 660 News . 24 February 2019 . 19 November 2018.
  14. Web site: Morgan . Liam . Graz withdraws from 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic bid race . Inside the Games . 24 February 2019 . 6 July 2018.
  15. Web site: Morgan . Liam . Sapporo set to withdraw bid for 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games . Inside the Games . 24 February 2019 . 13 September 2018.
  16. Web site: Morgan . Liam . Erzurum eliminated from contest for 2026 Winter Olympics as Calgary, Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo and Stockholm put forward to next stage . Inside the Games . 24 February 2019 . 4 October 2018.
  17. Web site: Swiss canton votes down bid to host 2026 Olympics . The Local . 22 February 2019.
  18. Web site: Switzerland: cradle of the Winter Olympics . House of Switzerland . 24 February 2019.
  19. Web site: PAST OLYMPIC HOST CITY ELECTION RESULTS . https://web.archive.org/web/20110124022022/http://www.gamesbids.com/eng/past.html . dead . 24 January 2011 . WebCite . 24 February 2019.

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