Rob2012 Posted December 21, 2014 Report Posted December 21, 2014 SION, December 20, 2014 - The Swiss city of Sion along with the Valais region will enter in the race to host the Winter Olympic Games of 2026. The initiative was launched by Christian Constantin president of FC Sion, the football team that is in the heart of the region. Sion was in the race for hosting rights three times before to no avail, in 1976, 2002 and 2006. This will be the fourth time, but its bid will rely on the experience accumulated in previous attempts. In 2006 the Swiss city was beaten in the final sprint by Turin and has not lost the confidence of those who had voted for it then. Now, after the approval of Agenda 2020, Sion has an even greater chance than before because it will include in its project existing plants in the region, which is rich in sports infrastructure. A press conference will be convened in early 2015 to clarify all points of the initiative. http://www.aipsmedia.com/index.php?page=news&cod=15505&tp=n#.VJWhbV4AA Quote
StefanMUC Posted December 21, 2014 Report Posted December 21, 2014 Funny if it was Sion that saved the IOC in terms of getting WOG back to traditional places, after the IOC punished it in the 2006 race for Hodler's indiscretions that kicked off the 98/99 scandal... Quote
Tony E Loves Architecture Posted December 21, 2014 Report Posted December 21, 2014 Well, if the 2026 bidding turns out similar to the 2022 bidding, then Sion might have a chance, especially since the Agenda 2020 will be working then. The 2026 bidding race will be interesting. We already know what's happening with the 2022 bidding, we have a lot of early interest in the 2024 bidding, maybe the 2024 bidding can help the IOC's reputation and bring in more interest in hosting. I know Barcelona want to bid, Stockholm wants to bid, so this could be interesting for the 2026 bidding. Maybe this Agenda 2020 wasn't a bad idea after all. (Just to mention, I really tried with the capital letters in this post, hopefully, my effort is showing, sorry for this off topic part). 2 Quote
baron-pierreIV Posted December 21, 2014 Report Posted December 21, 2014 If Sion gets picked, it would play out Fate's partiality to "S" for WOG cities as "M" was providential for the SOGs. So, you'll have -- St. Moritz, Sapporo, Sarajevo, Salt Lake City, Sochi, then, maybe Sion. Quote
gromit Posted December 21, 2014 Report Posted December 21, 2014 http://www.vs.ch/press/ds_3/acc-2009-01-07-14810/fr/dossier.PDF This could be dusted off 1 Quote
StefanMUC Posted December 21, 2014 Report Posted December 21, 2014 I know Barcelona want to bid, Stockholm wants to bid, so this could be interesting for the 2026 bidding. You inow that? Tell us more please. know, not inow, bloody iPad Quote
MissEurasia Posted December 21, 2014 Report Posted December 21, 2014 Sion does have a chance, considering its their 4th time and that IF the US win 2024, but they do have some to tough competition, such as: Quebec, Barcelona and Stockholm, any Asian Bid won't stand a chance, considering Asia would have hosted 3 Games. Quote
thatsnotmypuppy Posted December 21, 2014 Report Posted December 21, 2014 Lets see if the Swiss government is completely on side. Their recent track record is a bit... spotty. Quote
Faster Posted December 21, 2014 Report Posted December 21, 2014 My thoughts exactly. Swiss cities and their NOC have had some level of interesting, bidding for 2010, 2018 and 2022 and didn't get to the final vote. We'll see where this goes. Quote
LatinXTC Posted December 21, 2014 Report Posted December 21, 2014 Sion does have a chance, considering its their 4th time and that IF the US win 2024, but they do have some to tough competition, such as: Quebec, Barcelona and Stockholm, any Asian Bid won't stand a chance, considering Asia would have hosted 3 Games. Even with Agenda 2020, Quebec is still somewhat of a longshot if there are other candidates that are still compact and adhere to what the IOC has been wanting from a WOG bid before Agenda 2020. Still, It should be interesting to see how the 2026 race goes down. Quote
mr.bernham Posted December 22, 2014 Report Posted December 22, 2014 You inow that? Tell us more please. know, not inow, bloody iPad http://www.barcelonapirineus2026.org/en/ And right before the vote last year city officials announced they wanted to bid for 2022 and then changed to 2026 so Tony has a point. Quote
ofan Posted December 22, 2014 Report Posted December 22, 2014 Well, if the 2026 bidding turns out similar to the 2022 bidding, then Sion might have a chance, especially since the Agenda 2020 will be working then. The 2026 bidding race will be interesting. We already know what's happening with the 2022 bidding, we have a lot of early interest in the 2024 bidding, maybe the 2024 bidding can help the IOC's reputation and bring in more interest in hosting. I know Barcelona want to bid, Stockholm wants to bid, so this could be interesting for the 2026 bidding. Maybe this Agenda 2020 wasn't a bad idea after all. (Just to mention, I really tried with the capital letters in this post, hopefully, my effort is showing, sorry for this off topic part). See Tony, when you stop being such a snarky asshole and actually listen to what we have to say, you put together some pretty darn good posts. Quote
Tony E Loves Architecture Posted December 22, 2014 Report Posted December 22, 2014 Thanks Bernham and Ofan. Also, another factor is that Lausanne is bidding for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics, so if Lausanne were to host that, would that give Sion little chance of hosting 2026? I know a lot of members here don't give the Youth Olympics much notice, but I do wonder if it will influence Sion's possible bid for 2026. Although, Beijing hosted 2008 and Nanjing hosted the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games, 6 years apart, same would happen with Lausanne 2020 and Sion 2026. I know Switzerland aren't as much as an influence as China, but Lausanne is the location of the IOC's headquarters. It will be interesting. 1 Quote
StefanMUC Posted December 22, 2014 Report Posted December 22, 2014 The IOC would have thrown itself into Oslo's arms six years after Lillehammer 2016, if they had had the chance. I think Lausanne 2020 is no obstacle to a Swiss 2026 bid. But Swiss referendums are tough to win for any bidders in the first place... Quote
MissEurasia Posted December 22, 2014 Report Posted December 22, 2014 Yeah like Bern's Ill-Fated 2010 Bid... Quote
zekekelso Posted December 22, 2014 Report Posted December 22, 2014 If Sion gets picked, it would play out Fate's partiality to "S" for WOG cities as "M" was providential for the SOGs. So, you'll have -- St. Moritz, Sapporo, Sarajevo, Salt Lake City, Sochi, then, maybe Sion. But do they have a revolving restaurant? Quote
Quaker2001 Posted December 22, 2014 Report Posted December 22, 2014 Thanks Bernham and Ofan. Also, another factor is that Lausanne is bidding for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics, so if Lausanne were to host that, would that give Sion little chance of hosting 2026? I know a lot of members here don't give the Youth Olympics much notice, but I do wonder if it will influence Sion's possible bid for 2026. Although, Beijing hosted 2008 and Nanjing hosted the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games, 6 years apart, same would happen with Lausanne 2020 and Sion 2026. I know Switzerland aren't as much as an influence as China, but Lausanne is the location of the IOC's headquarters. It will be interesting. That's actually a great point. I had forgotten about that I don't know that past precedent with Beijing necessarily applies here, but it's definitely a good question of whether or not a Youth Olympics would hurt their prospects for a Sion bid. To which I don't know the answer, but it something worth watching. Bravo, Tony. Would love to see more posts like this from you. The IOC would have thrown itself into Oslo's arms six years after Lillehammer 2016, if they had had the chance. I think Lausanne 2020 is no obstacle to a Swiss 2026 bid. But Swiss referendums are tough to win for any bidders in the first place... That was the circumstances of that particular race though. If Sion were to be the only European bidder for 2026 and they hold on to bid, it's probably a done deal. But if there are other European cities out there in the running, then I think a Lausanne Youth Olympics might be a factor for Sion 2026. Obviously that's assuming they get to that point in the first place. Quote
Quaker2001 Posted December 22, 2014 Report Posted December 22, 2014 Sion does have a chance, considering its their 4th time and that IF the US win 2024, but they do have some to tough competition, such as: Quebec, Barcelona and Stockholm, any Asian Bid won't stand a chance, considering Asia would have hosted 3 Games. 4th time is something of a misnomer though. They bid for the 1976 Olympics, lost, and didn't bid against for a quarter of a century. Then they bid for 2002 and lost. Came back for 2006 and lost again (of course we all know what influenced that). And now it will have been another 20 years before we hear from them again. There have been other cities that have followed a similar trajectory (Calgary comes to mind), and sure Sion can play up that they've been out there for a long time. But circumstances aside where the IOC would welcome any European presence, would this be a continuation of their past efforts or something brand new that bears little resemblance to the past. Quote
Rob2012 Posted December 22, 2014 Author Report Posted December 22, 2014 That's actually a great point. I had forgotten about that I don't know that past precedent with Beijing necessarily applies here, but it's definitely a good question of whether or not a Youth Olympics would hurt their prospects for a Sion bid. To which I don't know the answer, but it something worth watching. London was said to have hurt Glasgow 2018, but of course that was the other way around. I guess the IOC thought "the UK can and has hosted the main event, there are other strong bids so let's give someone else the YOGs". My guess would be a YOG hosting wouldn't have such an effect on a nation putting a full Olympic bid forward. Quote
Tony E Loves Architecture Posted December 23, 2014 Report Posted December 23, 2014 Thinking about it, in one instance, Lausanne 2020 could influence Sion 2026 if there aren't many bidders for 2026, or many good bidders. If Sion 2026 turns out to be like Oslo 2022, with 3 bidders left and Sion is the only safe bidder left, then the IOC won't worry too much about the closeness of Lausanne 2020 and Sion 2026. Of course, if it turns out to work differently and there are a good number of decent bids, then the IOC might take it into consideration that Lausanne 2020 is too near to Sion 2026. So, that might give Sion less chance of hosting 2026, maybe giving them a better chance if they chose to bid for 2030? We have to remember that for the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics, Lillehammer was the only bidder. For 2022, Oslo was the best bid left by far, until they withdrew of course. So the IOC couldn't be too critical of the closeness of Lillehammer 2016 and Oslo 2022. If Stockholm and Krakow had stayed in the bidding, maybe Lillehammer 2016 would have influenced the 2022 bidding. Who knows. It will be interesting to see which choice the IOC takes, maybe because of a small number of bidders, they won't have much choice. Quote
mr.bernham Posted December 23, 2014 Report Posted December 23, 2014 Thanks Bernham and Ofan. Also, another factor is that Lausanne is bidding for the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics, so if Lausanne were to host that, would that give Sion little chance of hosting 2026? I know a lot of members here don't give the Youth Olympics much notice, but I do wonder if it will influence Sion's possible bid for 2026. Although, Beijing hosted 2008 and Nanjing hosted the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games, 6 years apart, same would happen with Lausanne 2020 and Sion 2026. I know Switzerland aren't as much as an influence as China, but Lausanne is the location of the IOC's headquarters. It will be interesting. Kinda what Stefan said, I think it would only help them. It could 'show their commitment to the Olympic Movement' it would also let them show their hosting capabilities. Quote
Tony E Loves Architecture Posted December 27, 2014 Report Posted December 27, 2014 Kinda what Stefan said, I think it would only help them. It could 'show their commitment to the Olympic Movement' it would also let them show their hosting capabilities. True. It depends on how many Cities will bid on how it will influence Sion 2026's bid. Quote
MissEurasia Posted December 27, 2014 Report Posted December 27, 2014 True. It depends on how many Cities will bid on how it will influence Sion 2026's bid. Well, If the US do bid, the candidate would probably be Anchorage or Salt Lake City or even Denver (Bit hard since they withdrew in 1976), it would be hard for them if they get 2024, Asia can be ruled out straight away, we've seen too many games from them so goodbye Sapporo (Not saying the bid is going to be rubbish or poor, just saying it'll be hard for them too) South America would probably have Santiago (It would be a favourite, but I think they would use this as a test bid for the future?) Leaving Europe, The only strong bids from Europe that I can think of would probably be: Barcelona, Spain The Joint Bid from Norway and Sweden and Sion I'd say the toughest cookie Sion would have to get past is Barcelona... Quote
LatinXTC Posted December 27, 2014 Report Posted December 27, 2014 Well, If the US do bid, the candidate would probably be Anchorage or Salt Lake City or even Denver (Bit hard since they withdrew in 1976), it would be hard for them if they get 2024, Asia can be ruled out straight away, we've seen too many games from them so goodbye Sapporo (Not saying the bid is going to be rubbish or poor, just saying it'll be hard for them too) South America would probably have Santiago (It would be a favourite, but I think they would use this as a test bid for the future?) Leaving Europe, The only strong bids from Europe that I can think of would probably be: Barcelona, Spain The Joint Bid from Norway and Sweden and Sion I'd say the toughest cookie Sion would have to get past is Barcelona... Are people still bringing up Denver 1976??? That was almost 40 years ago, it's highly doubtful that incident would happen again, and most, if not all, IOC members weren't even around back then to even take it into account. Even if Americans win the right to host the Summer Olympics in 2024, I still think they might have a decent shot of making a sound bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics. But I don't think the USOC would put forth a Winter Olympic bid for that year if they win 2024, so they would certainly aim for 2030. And while I think an Alaskan bid would be nice, I want the USOC and Olympics to have nothing to do with that mess since it's been totally tarnished by the Palins for me. Quote
StefanMUC Posted December 27, 2014 Report Posted December 27, 2014 Well, If the US do bid, the candidate would probably be Anchorage or Salt Lake City or even Denver (Bit hard since they withdrew in 1976), it would be hard for them if they get 2024, Asia can be ruled out straight away, we've seen too many games from them so goodbye Sapporo (Not saying the bid is going to be rubbish or poor, just saying it'll be hard for them too) South America would probably have Santiago (It would be a favourite, but I think they would use this as a test bid for the future?) Leaving Europe, The only strong bids from Europe that I can think of would probably be: Barcelona, Spain The Joint Bid from Norway and Sweden and Sion I'd say the toughest cookie Sion would have to get past is Barcelona... I'd say the toughest cookie would be the Swiss voters stopping a bid by referendum, like they already did several times (though not yet in Sion/Valais). Quote
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