Switzerland may bid to host the 2038 Winter Olympics—despite a long record of public resistance, reports SRF. Voters rejected Olympic projects in cantonal referendums in 2013, 2017 and 2018—Graubunden twice then Valais. This time, however, the proposal is being advanced without a vote.
The bid is being prepared by Swiss Olympic, which argues that past rejections are a poor guide. Earlier proposals centred on a single host region that would also shoulder most of the costs. The new concept, dubbed “Games à la Suisse”, would be decentralised, rely largely on existing infrastructure and spread responsibilities across the country.
All previous Olympic bids failed because costs and risks were concentrated in a single canton, triggering local referendums. There has never been a nationwide vote on hosting the Olympics.
Even so, the public will not be asked directly. According to Ruth Metzler-Arnold, President of Swiss Olympic, the timetable set by the International Olympic Committee leaves no room for a federal referendum. Switzerland must submit a full candidature within 12 months. National votes were not held in earlier bids either, she notes, even when the federal government promised far larger financial contributions.
Cantonal referendums, if they take place, would come only after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has awarded the Games. Critics see this as a way of confronting voters with a fait accompli. Swiss Olympic rejects that charge, arguing that the sequence is dictated by the process and has been clear from the outset. Cantons would vote knowing that the Games were intended as a national project.
The most sensitive issue remains financial risk. Under the proposal, a deficit guarantee must come from private backers, not the public sector. Such guarantees have yet to be secured. Failure to do so by the end of the year would end the bid—the IOC requires the guarantee. Without it, Swiss Olympic concedes, no application can be submitted.
Whether the project will ever command popular support is an open question. For now, Switzerland is considering hosting the Olympics once more—this time without asking voters whether they want them.
More on this:
SRF article (in German)
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