Netherlands May Bid For 2028 Games

Radio Netherlands reports Dutch Crown Prince William-Alexander told an International Olympic Committee (IOC) member in Beijing he hopes the Netherlands' ambitions to host the Olympic Games will lead to an improvement in Dutch attitudes to sport. He said he believes the Netherlands should look beyond the high costs of running the Olympics, adding whether or not the Games come to the Netherlands, the prince thinks the aim should be to increase young people's interest in sport.

In 2006 the CDA Minister of Economics Affairs reportedly set aside 400,000 euros to investigate the possibility of a 2028 bid, exactly 100 years after the Amsterdam Games, saying "the Olympic Games has a huge economic effect on the host country. The study was ordered after a group persuaded the minister a Dutch bid to hold the Games would be realistic, and the report will be issued this month".

The National Sports Federation has drawn up a plan for the bid in consultation with various ministries and the councils of four major cities, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. There are three phases - a feasibility study, investment and development of an infrastructure, and the third phase in 2016 will be a decision as to whether or not to go ahead with a bid.

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