No Davos-St. Moritz 2022 bid?

[plusbrilliantsexploits]

Further:

1. The Supreme Council for Sport in Africa which conducts the All-Africa Games conducts its affairs in English and French (like the IOC).

2. The universal languages of English and French (yes, they are colonial languages...but that's the way it is) serve as unifiers rather than as dividers which the use of 'tribal' dialects do. The 2 languages bind everyone together...rather then enforcing regional or local loyalties where, i.e., I am a Tutsi, you are a Hutu, s/he is a Zulu...or whatever).

3. At the recent 2010 World Cup, I believe they only used English and Afrikaans -- not the 9 other languages. (I'm guessing on that one.)

4. Would you like to go into the matter of India where English and Hindi are the current Official Languages; while there are 22 recognized regional languages??

I gotta agree with Shrek on this one - although I don't exactly chime with the manner in which he expresses his perfectly legitimate point ("duh", "You do get rather silly, doncha" and accusing him of being "overly PC" - no need to be gratuitously personal, I'd say!).

Regarding the issue at hand: With all due to respect to all language communities, one also has to bear practicality in mind. So, it would be patently impractical to use more than 3 languages (Barcelona was a special case, as there were local sensibilities with the use of Castilian as the sole Spanish language - consequently, they added Catalan as the fourth official language of Barcelona '92).

However, I don't exactly agree with Shrek's characterization of Zulu or Xhosa as "tribal languages", whilst portraying Afrikaans as some sort of lingua franca. Afrikaans is only spoken by part of the white minority community in South Africa - namely the descendants of the first Dutch settlers. Yes, the apartheid regime made a concerted effort to foist the language on the rest of the nation, but even white South Africans of British origin didn't see it as "their" language. Hence, why there were TV stations catering to English-speaking whites as well. Given its problematic historical connotations, I seriously doubt that a South Africa-based Olympic Games would feature Afrikaans as any of the languages in which things are announced. It'd likely be English and French. In India, it'd be French, English and Hindi - since the latter two are the official languages of the country.

[markun]

I imagine announcements would be in French, English and German. Italian and Romansch would probably feature somewhat in ceremonies but I don't think we need to worry too much about announcements lasting ages with everything repeated in five languages.

Graubünden is home to most Romansch speakers so it would add a nice cultural flavour to the Games but the dominant language in this part of Switzerland is German.

[Shrek201]

I imagine announcements would be in French, English and German. Italian and Romansch would probably feature somewhat in ceremonies but I don't think we need to worry too much about announcements lasting ages with everything repeated in five languages.

Graubünden is home to most Romansch speakers so it would add a nice cultural flavour to the Games but the dominant language in this part of Switzerland is German.

Or, and I don't know how the Germanic-speaking Swiss would take it, since the IOC is also headquartered in Suisse, then maybe the ceremonial announcements could just be limited to French & English? That is an alternative.

[Crusader]

Sorry but why are we discussing languages and does anybody care?

[zekekelso]

Spain, Norway, CHina.

Nope. I can assure you announcements in Beijing were only made in French, English and the dominate local language of the host city. You claim that Olympic announcements are made in all the official languages of the host country is simply a mistake.

[markun]

Sorry but why are we discussing languages and does anybody care?

Why do we talk about anything on here? Discussions always wander all over the place.

Which reminds me, does anyone have any thoughts on what impact a Swiss bid might have on Toronto's plans

[zekekelso]

Swiss victory in 2022 makes a North American games in 2026 that much more likely. Are they really going to put the games in NA in both 2024 and 2026?

[markun]

Sorry, that was a joke because almost every thread on here ends up discussing Toronto at some point.

[munichfan]

Well, at least no more Reno vs. Denver on here.

[hektor]

The parallel with London is interesting as well, St. Moritz 1928, 1948, 2022...

[Athensfan]

Swiss victory in 2022 makes a North American games in 2026 that much more likely. Are they really going to put the games in NA in both 2024 and 2026?

Not necessarily. Sure it fits in with the continental rotation, but there's nothing saying it must work that way. There have been plenty of back to back European WOGs. Harbin or the Ukraine (still Europe, but not a traditional host) could get 2026 as well.

As I've said before, the real question is whether the US is willing to hunker down for a 40 or 50 year gap between Summer Games on home soil. No matter how open the door is for 2026, I don't think they should make that sacrifice.

Well, at least no more Reno vs. Denver on here.

Now, now. There really hasn't been very much of that for quite some time. (Of course it helped enormously when the USOC said they wouldn't bid for 2022....)

[intoronto]

Well if Europe west wins 2022 it doesn't stop Europe East/Asia from winning 2026. Almaty, Ukraine etc.

[gotosy]

CF: 30 million for candidacy Olympics Davos / St Moritz

A credit of 30 million francs to support the candidacy of Davos and St. Moritz to the Olympic Winter Games in 2022. Is laid down in a decree approved today by the Federal Council.

If the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had to choose the two locations Grisons, Bern is ready to participate with a billion francs costs not covered the event, estimated at 1.3 billion.

Both loans are tied to certain conditions, according to a note from the Federal Department of Sport (DDPS). The first will be allocated only if the canton and Swiss Olympic participate in their turn with at least 15 million apiece to finance the application.

The second is bound to comply with the requirements of environmental protection, land use planning and sustainability throughout the organization and conduct of the Games and compliance with the provisions on the construction of second homes, says the Department.

Before transmitting the decree to parliament, but the government intends to listen to the stakeholders. Given the short time available, surveys will be conducted in the form of lectures, on 26 and 29 October. It will also be given the opportunity to submit a written statement of position.

In this way, the Federal Council wants to ensure that the Great Council of Graubünden is aware of the final position of the federal government during the debate on the draft cantonal application planned for the December session.

(google translated)

CF: 30 milioni per candidatura olimpiadi Davos/St.Moritz

Un credito di 30 milioni di franchi per sostenere la candidatura di Davos e St.Moritz ai Giochi olimpici invernali del 2022. È quanto prevede un decreto approvato oggi dal Consiglio federale.

Se il Comitato olimpico internazionale (CIO) dovesse scegliere le due località grigionesi, Berna è pronta a partecipare con un miliardo di franchi ai costi non coperti della manifestazione, stimati a 1,3 miliardi.

Entrambi i crediti sono vincolati a determinate condizioni, si legge in una nota del Dipartimento federale dello sport (DDPS). Il primo sarà stanziato solo se il Cantone e Swiss Olympic parteciperanno a loro volta con almeno 15 milioni a testa al finanziamento della candidatura.

Il secondo è vincolato al rispetto delle esigenze di protezione dell'ambiente, di pianificazione territoriale e di sostenibilità durante l'organizzazione e lo svolgimento dei Giochi nonché al rispetto delle disposizioni sulla costruzione di abitazioni secondarie, precisa il Dipartimento.

Prima di trasmettere il decreto al parlamento, il governo intende tuttavia ascoltare gli ambienti interessati. Visto il poco tempo a disposizione, saranno condotte indagini conoscitive in forma di conferenze, il 26 e 29 ottobre prossimi. Sarà inoltre concessa la possibilità di inoltrare una presa di posizione scritta.

In questo modo il Consiglio federale vuole assicurarsi che il Gran consiglio grigionese sia a conoscenza della posizione definitiva della Confederazione in occasione del dibattito sul progetto cantonale di candidatura previsto per la sessione di dicembre.

http://www.swissinfo...ml?cid=33750268

[SwissO]

CF: 30 million for candidacy Olympics Davos / St Moritz

A credit of 30 million francs to support the candidacy of Davos and St. Moritz to the Olympic Winter Games in 2022. Is laid down in a decree approved today by the Federal Council.

If the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had to choose the two locations Grisons, Bern is ready to participate with a billion francs costs not covered the event, estimated at 1.3 billion.

Both loans are tied to certain conditions, according to a note from the Federal Department of Sport (DDPS). The first will be allocated only if the canton and Swiss Olympic participate in their turn with at least 15 million apiece to finance the application.

The second is bound to comply with the requirements of environmental protection, land use planning and sustainability throughout the organization and conduct of the Games and compliance with the provisions on the construction of second homes, says the Department.

Before transmitting the decree to parliament, but the government intends to listen to the stakeholders. Given the short time available, surveys will be conducted in the form of lectures, on 26 and 29 October. It will also be given the opportunity to submit a written statement of position.

In this way, the Federal Council wants to ensure that the Great Council of Graubünden is aware of the final position of the federal government during the debate on the draft cantonal application planned for the December session.

(google translated)

For those reading German, here is the original version : http://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/news/newsticker/international/Bundesrat_will_30_Millionen_Franken_an_Olympiakandidatur_beisteuern.html?cid=33750274

Or French : http://www.swissinfo.ch/fre/nouvelles_agence/international/Le_Conseil_federal_mettrait_un_milliard_pour_les_JO_aux_Grisons.html?cid=33751966

[zekekelso]

For the curious, a Swiss Franc is worth a bit more than a dollar, but less than a Euro.

[gotosy]

Opinions divided on Olympic benefits

Graubünden’s proposed candidacy for the 2022 Winter Olympics has polarised voters who will decide on March 3 whether their canton should put aside CHF300 million ($326 million) so as to be able to host the prestigious event.

Supporters are pushing the idea that the Games will bring sustainable development; opponents say Olympics and sustainability are mutually exclusive.

The Swiss Olympic Association hopes the project will give a new impulse to winter sports disciplines in Switzerland.

The Games, centred on Davos and St Moritz, will respect the countryside and the climate, expand public transport and provide a long term boost for economy and society in a peripheral region – and there won’t be a deficit: That’s what supporters are promising.

The campaigners for the 2022 Graubünden Winter Olympics have also other ambitious goals. The group brings together representatives of the federal and cantonal authorities, of Swiss Olympic, the towns of Davos and St Moritz as well as businesses in the region.

The canton wants the Olympics to help push Graubünden as a winter sports destination in growth markets like Russia, China, India and Brazil, the campaign association’s spokesman Christian Gartmann told swissinfo.ch.

The six million Chinese who go skiing today might perhaps know Davos as the site of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, and St Moritz as a luxury resort, “but the fact that they are beautiful areas for sport is not well known,” he says.

Reversing the "brain drain"

The promoters have launched the “Sustainability, Innovation and Legacy” association. Its sustainability charter is designed to show how the local population can go on benefiting from stimulus created by the Games for as long as possible afterwards.

Gartmann points to the "brain regain" project as an illustration.

"Almost 80 per cent of young people from mountain regions who go down to the central areas for further training or education, don’t come back for lack of prospects,” he explains.

The idea of "brain regain" is to help them establish new businesses back home.

Catastrophic

But not everyone is enthusiastic. Jon Pult, chairman of the Graubünden cantonal group of the Social Democrats, believes the Olympics would be “catastrophic” for the development of Graubünden’s mountain areas. His party, along with other organisations and individuals from

the political centre left and green camps have established a “Olympics-Critical Graubünden committee”.

The “enormous paraphernalia” would fill two valleys and enlarge the ecological footprint, Pult told swissinfo.ch.

He describes as "absurd" the claim of supporters that the Olympics are a "great chance for innovation ". He admits that the Olympics of 1928 and 1948 might have been beneficial to Graubünden, or at least to St Moritz, where they were held, but considers it “a delusion” to think that “the challenges of today and tomorrow can be overcome with an idea from the day before yesterday”.

For him, the Olympics and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are “money-spinners”, which are not designed “to produce sustainability”.

What is really needed are new ideas, and also consistent support for the countless small initiatives that already exist.

Pult sees a lot of potential in expanding winter tourism to make it attractive year-round, in diversifying the economy, in regional projects like nature parks, in new energies and the promotion of innovative

organic agriculture.

As far as Pult is concerned, the promoters’ charter is merely full of fine words, but their programme is not in any way legally binding, and indeed has no democratic legitimacy.

"If they were serious, the charter would have been presented at the beginning of the process and a legal basis for it would have been drawn up.”

Credibility and money

Gartmann says the backers of the sustainability association – again, representatives of the national and cantonal authorities, Davos, St Moritz and Swiss Olympic - enjoy broad-based support and are very credible.

"Both the national authorities and the canton have said publicly that they will withdraw their support for the candidacy if the charter is not implemented,” he assured swissinfo.ch.

But it may be that the decisive factor on March 3 is a completely different matter: money.

A tug-of-war about the state’s deficit guarantee that the IOC demands from the host country made news headlines for several days.

A parliamentary finance committee was adamant that the government should not pay one cent more than the CHF1 billion it has promised. A few parliamentarians even wanted to lower the contribution to CHF700 million.

But Sports Minister Ueli Maurer who has come out clearly in favour of the Olympics plan, has stated that the federal authorities, not the canton of Graubünden, would cover any deficit, even if this exceeded the promised billion – which he thinks is extremely unlikely. Last Wednesday he won official backing from the cabinet.

Hot potato

The last word goes to parliament in Bern, which will not take its decision until after the vote in Graubünden.

The supporters do not believe that the argument is compromising the chances of the candidacy. Gartmann comments that the clash of different opinions is part of Switzerland’s political process.

"It would be more worrying if the voters of Graubünden were made to believe that the canton might not have to make good any possible deficit after all,” he says.

But Pult thinks the opponents are right to be sceptical given that the issue of the deficit guarantee is being thrown backwards and forwards between the national and cantonal authorities “like a hot

potato”.

"We have been saying for weeks that Olympics are likely to end up in deficit, and that it will certainly fall to the public sector to make this good."

The decision of the parliamentary finance committee is a clear sign to the voters of Graubünden, he

claims. “By voting no they can spare the country a lot of trouble.”

Renat Künzi, swissinfo.ch

(adapted from German by Julia Slater)

Timetable

March 3, 2013: Voters in Graubünden decide whether the canton should set aside a SFr300 million reserve from its own assets to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.

If they vote in favour the International Olympics Committee (IOC) must be informed of the official candidacy by November 14.

The application file, containing an overview of the project, must be submitted by March 2014.

This file must also include the state’s budget guarantee.

An IOC assessment committee will reduce the candidates to a short-list of three to be announced in July 2014.

The announcement of the 2022 host will be made on July 31 2015.

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Opinions_divided_on_Olympic_benefits.html?cid=35005372

[Tulsa]

2022 is a good time to Swiss to win. It's the European turn, and IOC should comeback in the traditional countries...

But why Bid with St Moritz ? Aren't there other choice in Swiss than St Moritz ? Why not Sion, Lausanne, Zurich, Bern or Luzern ?

[Pure facts]

Swiss TV reports that although both St-Moritz and Davos have voted in favour of the 2022 bid, the Graubunden region has voted no, therefore killing the bid.

[Rob2012]

Thanks Pure Facts. That's that then.

Door just opened wider for Munich.

[intoronto]

Yes bid has been voted down. No bid from Switzerland

[Faster]

Thanks Pure Facts. That's that then.

Door just opened wider for Munich.

I would say the door has just opened for Sweden and Norway. The DOA has officially said no bid. So it now looks like 2022 is heading to the Norwegian capital if the government there can get enough support.

Though I love Norway and would pay anything to go to a games in Norway I really hope Salzburg and the Austrians decide to give it another go because they could easily win this now.

[hektor]

With the current situation in Europe, the IOC could find itself in front of a very limited range of credible bids for 2022. Already 2018 had only three candidate cities at the end. And one, Annecy, was anecdotical.

The IOC has played a dangerous game choosing Sochi for 2014 and their gigantic budget. Now lots of people are scared this is the new template for Winter Games.

[Tulsa]

With the current situation in Europe, the IOC could find itself in front of a very limited range of credible bids for 2022. Already 2018 had only three candidate cities at the end. And one, Annecy, was anecdotical.

The IOC has played a dangerous game choosing Sochi for 2014 and their gigantic budget. Now lots of people are scared this is the new template for Winter Games.

European countries don't want spend money like Sochi or Korea to 2014 and 2018 WoG.

When you see a city like Annecy to have only 7 votes, lot of European medium cities don't want try to bid... Sweden, Switzerland, Austria etc. are limited, there aren't important city like Vancouver or Turin and moreover IOC wants very compact games, it's too difficult to have all this point in one Bid in Europe...

2022 is a good time for European countries, I think France should bid in 2022 but they prefer another Paris bid in 2024.

[FYI]

Interesting devolopment, to say the least. Maybe that TRI-national Eastern Euro bid is all the IOC will end up with afterall.

[FYI]

And here we all that 2022 was going to be like the 2012 race in the Winter category.