Swiss Olympic definitely does not support Geneva's Olympic candidacy
The 2018 Winter Olympics should take place in the Lake Geneva region, at least according to a group of sports and tourism experts. They are now calling for political support and a national debate for a bid. The umbrella organization Swiss Olympic refuses to give its support.
The 2018 Winter Olympics should take place in the Lake Geneva region, at least according to a group of sports and tourism experts. They are now calling for political support and a national debate for a bid. The umbrella organization Swiss Olympic refuses to give its support.
The conditions for a bid are not yet right at present, the working group exploring the chances of a bid from the city of Geneva wrote on Monday. Whether the Games could take place in Switzerland after 2018 would depend, among other things, on the support of the federal, cantonal and municipal authorities.
The aim now is to initiate a nationwide discussion about the Winter Games in Switzerland in 2018 or 2022. Only a bid on behalf of the whole of Switzerland could be successful.
As Swiss Olympic President Jörg Schild told SDA when asked, the umbrella organization of Swiss sports federations is not happy about the Geneva working group's advance. The association had already communicated earlier that it did not want to support the Geneva Olympic project.
A candidacy must stand for the whole country and not for one region, said Schild. In the opinion of Swiss Olympic, Switzerland should be a candidate for a later edition of the Olympics. At present, two conditions for a Swiss candidacy are not fulfilled. On the one hand, the International Olympic Committee has a tendency to award Olympic Games to places where it wants to achieve something, for example politically or for the promotion of sport. On the other hand, the mood for major sporting events was lacking in Switzerland.
The city of Zurich's bid for the 2014 Winter Games already failed due to a lack of political will and finances, prompting the promoters in Zurich to abandon their plans. It is possible that the 2018 Winter Olympics will take place just outside Geneva, but on the French side of the border. The town of Annecy in Haute-Savoie is bidding to host the Games in the internal French competition.
The conditions for a bid are not yet right at present, the working group exploring the chances of a bid from the city of Geneva wrote on Monday. Whether the Games could take place in Switzerland after 2018 would depend, among other things, on the support of the federal, cantonal and municipal authorities.
The aim now is to initiate a nationwide discussion about the Winter Games in Switzerland in 2018 or 2022. Only a bid on behalf of the whole of Switzerland could be successful.
As Swiss Olympic President Jörg Schild told SDA when asked, the umbrella organization of Swiss sports federations is not happy about the Geneva working group's advance. The association had already communicated earlier that it did not want to support the Geneva Olympic project.
A candidacy must stand for the whole country and not for one region, said Schild. In the opinion of Swiss Olympic, Switzerland should be a candidate for a later edition of the Olympics. At present, two conditions for a Swiss candidacy are not fulfilled. On the one hand, the International Olympic Committee has a tendency to award Olympic Games to places where it wants to achieve something, for example politically or for the promotion of sport. On the other hand, the mood for major sporting events was lacking in Switzerland.
The city of Zurich's bid for the 2014 Winter Games already failed due to a lack of political will and finances, prompting the promoters in Zurich to abandon their plans. It is possible that the 2018 Winter Olympics will take place just outside Geneva, but on the French side of the border. The town of Annecy in Haute-Savoie is bidding to host the Games in the internal French competition.
