New Zealand Winter Olympics

[AustralianFan]

Interesting news coming out of New Zealand about the feasibility of a future bid for a South Island Olympic Winter Games.

“Former New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) vice-president Bruce Ullrich says the country's time has come to stage the Winter Olympic Games in 2034 or 2038.   He states that the South Island would make a suitable location for the Games and has called for a feasibility study to be conducted into the possibility of "a combined Christchurch and Queenstown bid", as reported by Stuff.”

 

[AustralianFan]

Some other current and previous related reports: 

Former top NZ Olympic Committee official moots South Island Winter Olympics bid - 9 July 2023 - Stuff.co.nz

• “Ullrich felt New Zealand venues had proved capable of holding international winter sports such as freestyle, alpine and short track skiing speed and figure skating, bobsleigh, luge, ski jumping and snowboarding.”
• “He envisaged Christchurch as “the headquarters’’ for a Winter Olympics with competitors and officials based there “as well as a sub-village in Queenstown and Wānaka”.
• “Curling and ice-skating could be held in indoor venues around Canterbury while Mt Hutt “could be an option for downhill competitions, but any recommendations would come from the participating sports’’.

 

Former NZ Olympic Committee Official Suggests South Island Winter Olympics Bid - 8 July 2023 - uksnackattack.co.uk

• “Ullrich points out that New Zealand has successfully hosted international winter sports events in the past, such as freestyle, alpine and short track skiing, figure skating, bobsleigh, luge, ski jumping, and snowboarding.”
• ”He envisions Christchurch as the main hub for a Winter Olympics, with additional venues in Queenstown and Wanaka. Ullrich suggests that indoor venues in Canterbury could be used for curling and ice-skating, while Mt Hutt could potentially be an option for downhill competitions.”

 

2015 Pre-feasibility Report - New Zealand 2026 Olympic Winter Games - 6 May 2015

• The Pre-Feasibility Report on a possible 2026 bid was on Gamesbids.com in 2015:

 

[StefanMUC]

Don’t we all love a bit of short track “skiing”…not to forget all those memorable bob and luge events held in NZ over the years.

 

[AustralianFan]

1 hour ago, AustralianFan said:

Some other current and previous related reports: 

Former top NZ Olympic Committee official moots South Island Winter Olympics bid - 9 July 2023 - Stuff.co.nz

• “Ullrich felt New Zealand venues had proved capable of holding international winter sports such as freestyle, alpine and short track skiing speed and figure skating, bobsleigh, luge, ski jumping and snowboarding.”
• “He envisaged Christchurch as “the headquarters’’ for a Winter Olympics with competitors and officials based there “as well as a sub-village in Queenstown and Wānaka”.
• “Curling and ice-skating could be held in indoor venues around Canterbury while Mt Hutt “could be an option for downhill competitions, but any recommendations would come from the participating sports’’.

 

Former NZ Olympic Committee Official Suggests South Island Winter Olympics Bid - 8 July 2023 - uksnackattack.co.uk

• Ullrich points out that New Zealand has successfully hosted international winter sports events in the past, such as freestyle, *alpine skiing and short track skating, figure skating, bobsleigh, luge, ski jumping, and snowboarding. (*media report corrected)
• ”He envisions Christchurch as the main hub for a Winter Olympics, with additional venues in Queenstown and Wanaka. Ullrich suggests that indoor venues in Canterbury could be used for curling and ice-skating, while Mt Hutt could potentially be an option for downhill competitions.”

2015 Pre-feasibility Report - New Zealand 2026 Olympic Winter Games - 6 May 2015

• The Pre-Feasibility Report on a possible 2026 bid was on Gamesbids.com in 2015:

 

Further quote from the uksnackattack.co.uk report:

• “Despite the reservations of the NZOC and Snow Sports NZ, Ullrich plans to reconvene the Winter Games Promotion group to commission a feasibility study. He even proposes involving the School of Business at the University of Canterbury to undertake the study, as Massey University did in the 1990s. “
• ”Ullrich remains determined and believes that with the right approach and persistence, New Zealand can overcome any obstacles and successfully host the Winter Olympics in the future.”

[FYI]

I wonder if they'll be part of the "permanent, rotating pool" of winter hosts! 

[stryker]

This is the equivalent of that local politician in Tulsa saying his city should bid for the SOGs. Everyone knows the drawbacks for a NZ WOGs, most notably the calendar. Not only that, we've seen NZ pass on future CWGs.bids. if you cannot afford to bid for a CWGs then an Olympics is completely out of the question.

[AustralianFan]

1 hour ago, stryker said:

This is the equivalent of that local politician in Tulsa saying his city should bid for the SOGs. Everyone knows the drawbacks for a NZ WOGs, most notably the calendar. Not only that, we've seen NZ pass on future CWGs.bids. if you cannot afford to bid for a CWGs then an Olympics is completely out of the question.

Actually, New Zealand has announced they are interested in hosting 2034 Commonwealth Games:

19 April 23 - New Zealand announce they are interested in hosting 2034 Commonwealth Games - ITG

• “The New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC), with support from the country's Government, has announced its interest in hosting the 2034 Commonwealth Games.”
• "We have advised the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) that we are interested in exploring a New Zealand 2034 Commonwealth Games," NZOC chief executive Nicki Nicol said.
• NZ Government:  “Grant Robertson, Minister for Sport, said the Government is welcoming the interest.”

 

NZ signals interest in hosting 2034 Commonwealth Games - Beehive.govt.nz

• “A recent change to the Commonwealth Games hosting model including options to propose nationwide, regional, or co-host models now makes a potential bid for the games more attractive for New Zealand as a whole.
• “It’s early days for this process, and at this stage all that has been agreed is an indication of interest from New Zealand. Further work needs to be done to understand New Zealand’s position before considering whether to make a formal bid for the 2034 games, but I am excited at the prospect and potential for us to host it here.

[AustralianFan]

1 hour ago, stryker said:

This is the equivalent of that local politician in Tulsa saying his city should bid for the SOGs. Everyone knows the drawbacks for a NZ WOGs, most notably the calendar. Not only that, we've seen NZ pass on future CWGs.bids. if you cannot afford to bid for a CWGs then an Olympics is completely out of the question.

 

3 minutes ago, AustralianFan said:

Actually, New Zealand has announced they are interested in hosting 2034 Commonwealth Games:

19 April 23 - New Zealand announce they are interested in hosting 2034 Commonwealth Games - ITG

• “The New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC), with support from the country's Government, has announced its interest in hosting the 2034 Commonwealth Games.”
• "We have advised the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) that we are interested in exploring a New Zealand 2034 Commonwealth Games," NZOC chief executive Nicki Nicol said.
• NZ Government:  “Grant Robertson, Minister for Sport, said the Government is welcoming the interest.”

 

NZ signals interest in hosting 2034 Commonwealth Games - Beehive.govt.nz

• “A recent change to the Commonwealth Games hosting model including options to propose nationwide, regional, or co-host models now makes a potential bid for the games more attractive for New Zealand as a whole.
• “It’s early days for this process, and at this stage all that has been agreed is an indication of interest from New Zealand. Further work needs to be done to understand New Zealand’s position before considering whether to make a formal bid for the 2034 games, but I am excited at the prospect and potential for us to host it here.

 

Actually, here is the thread on New Zealand’s 2034 Commonwealth Games bid:   

Gamesbids.com - New Zealand to Bid For 2034 Commonwealth Games, Bring It On

[Sir Rols]

If they were ever to have a real chance, they’d throw their hat in when the IOC had no other alternative… like now, for 2030, if Sweden doesn’t make the distance. Even then, likely the IOC would find having to make good with the USOC for SLC would be the preferable alternative. For nigh on 20 years here, it’s long been discussed that the various IF’s winter sports calendars make an out-of-season winter games in NZ, or anywhere else south of the equator, well nigh an impossible pipe dream.

[Victorian]

I think it is a great idea! I am sick of Asian WOG.. NZ 2038 bring it on!

2030 - Stockholm

2034 - Salt Lake City

2038 - New Zealand

[Australian Kiwi]

Came across this compelling YouTube vid for the new indoor stadium in Christchurch. Very well made, and has a great energy that made me wish the IOC would work with a country like NZ to bring the Winter Olympics to the southern hemisphere. 

Given how dispersed Milano-Cortina is, an Aotearoa Winter Olympics isn't that unfeasible (with Christchurch and Queenstown hosting the bulk, and perhaps ice hockey at Auckland Arena). 

Shame they didn't get 2034, would have been a great complement to Brisbane 2032.

 

[sebastien1214]

I am not convinced that the IOC would ever want to try to organize WOGs in New Zealand because of a major problem: the time zone.

For SOGs it is not a problem, no matter the time zone there will always be millions of people on the planet who will watch the Olympics because they like sports in general. But for WOGs, the audience is much less universal; it is mainly European countries that are interested in it, with of course interested audiences in the United States, Japan, but... it is much less universal than summer sports.

With Winter Games organized in New Zealand, it would almost come down to not broadcasting them in Europe because of the time difference (they will obviously be broadcast but here mainly during the night, and honestly I think that few Europeans will wake up at 3am to watch biathlon). There was of course the precedent of Nagano, but it is a slightly better time zone for Europeans (3 hours difference between Japan and New Zealand).

And then Japan has more than 100 million inhabitants, there is here a relevant logic of wanting to develop the media coverage of winter sports in a market of 100 million inhabitants. New Zealand has only 5 million inhabitants... it makes very little sense for the IOC to go to New Zealand if it is to develop the practice of winter sports (and if the objective is to make a first in the southern hemisphere, Chile is already much more relevant).

[FYI]

17 hours ago, Australian Kiwi said:

Shame they didn't get 2034, would have been a great complement to Brisbane 2032.

Was NZ even serious to begin with? So I don't see how it was a shame when SLC was highly determined, for nearly a decade, to get another Winter Olympics as soon as they could.

9 hours ago, sebastien1214 said:

There was of course the precedent of Nagano, but it is a slightly better time zone for Europeans (3 hours difference between Japan and New Zealand).

And then Japan has more than 100 million inhabitants, there is here a relevant logic of wanting to develop the media coverage of winter sports in a market of 100 million inhabitants. New Zealand has only 5 million inhabitants.

Actually, there was an even more recent precedent of PyeongChang 2018 (same time zone as Japan). And Sapporo would've gotten 2030 on a silver platter, had it not been that the Japanese ultimately not wanting it, due to a few big factors around Tokyo 2020ne.

But I can get the argument about the huge population disparity with NZ. I think that could be more of an issue than the time-zone, since while that might not be favorable with European audiences, it can be more workable with U.S. & Canadian audiences (which are probably more winter-sport loving mad than the U.S.), not to mention speaking of Chile, since the time difference would not be as great with those countries, regardless of the international-dateline.

[Australian Kiwi]

10 hours ago, sebastien1214 said:

I am not convinced that the IOC would ever want to try to organize WOGs in New Zealand because of a major problem: the time zone.

For SOGs it is not a problem, no matter the time zone there will always be millions of people on the planet who will watch the Olympics because they like sports in general. But for WOGs, the audience is much less universal; it is mainly European countries that are interested in it, with of course interested audiences in the United States, Japan, but... it is much less universal than summer sports.

With Winter Games organized in New Zealand, it would almost come down to not broadcasting them in Europe because of the time difference (they will obviously be broadcast but here mainly during the night, and honestly I think that few Europeans will wake up at 3am to watch biathlon). There was of course the precedent of Nagano, but it is a slightly better time zone for Europeans (3 hours difference between Japan and New Zealand).

And then Japan has more than 100 million inhabitants, there is here a relevant logic of wanting to develop the media coverage of winter sports in a market of 100 million inhabitants. New Zealand has only 5 million inhabitants... it makes very little sense for the IOC to go to New Zealand if it is to develop the practice of winter sports (and if the objective is to make a first in the southern hemisphere, Chile is already much more relevant).

How is Chile more relevant?

They don't have anywhere near the infrastructure New Zealand has in terms of indoor stadia and winter resorts (Queenstown can easily hold its own against the likes of Whistler, Innsbruck, etc...)

[Australian Kiwi]

1 hour ago, FYI said:

Was NZ even serious to begin with? So I don't see how it was a shame when SLC was highly determined, for nearly a decade, to get another Winter Olympics as soon as they could.

 

They haven't been because the IOC hasn't really indulged the idea because they've always had a raft of European hosts ready and willing. This is less of a reliability now. 

With them indicating more flexibility of late, I would think that giving sports associations a decade long lead in to a Southern Hemisphere WOG wouldn't be too unviable? 

[sebastien1214]

8 hours ago, Australian Kiwi said:

How is Chile more relevant?

They don't have anywhere near the infrastructure New Zealand has in terms of indoor stadia and winter resorts (Queenstown can easily hold its own against the likes of Whistler, Innsbruck, etc...)

For the IOC, it is more relevant because:
- Chile is more populated than New Zealand. In terms of wanting to develop winter sports, it makes more sense
- Chile represents a "new frontier", not New Zealand. (because even if this country has never had WOGs, it remains a "Western" country like any other.)

Now yes, at the infrastructure level there is a real issue. And to be honest to the end:
- I do not believe in New Zealand's chances of having WOGs one day... and I think the same for Chile (for different reasons)
- With global warming, raising the issue of WOGs from 2042 (since it seems that 2038 is half locked for Switzerland) seems absurd to me. Let's try to see if we will have snow for 2030 and 2034, to start.

[stryker]

On 9/3/2024 at 7:00 PM, sebastien1214 said:

For the IOC, it is more relevant because:
- Chile is more populated than New Zealand. In terms of wanting to develop winter sports, it makes more sense
- Chile represents a "new frontier", not New Zealand. (because even if this country has never had WOGs, it remains a "Western" country like any other.)

Now yes, at the infrastructure level there is a real issue. And to be honest to the end:
- I do not believe in New Zealand's chances of having WOGs one day... and I think the same for Chile (for different reasons)
- With global warming, raising the issue of WOGs from 2042 (since it seems that 2038 is half locked for Switzerland) seems absurd to me. Let's try to see if we will have snow for 2030 and 2034, to start.

The IOC already went to South America with Rio which blew open the budget and left a string of venues that are now white elephants. The IOC isn't going to repeat that experience. The infrastructure required in Chile would represent costs on a Sochi type scale. A Youth Olympics makes much more sense.