In the end, the fallout from the corruption scandal surrounding the pandemic-delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games proved too much to overcome.
On the day a Japanese publishing executive was given a four-year suspended sentence for his part in a Tokyo 2020 bribe, Sapporo Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto admitted the scandal marked a death knell to his city’s bid to host the Winter Olympics for a second time in 2030. In a joint press conference with Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) Chair Yasuhiro Yamashita Tuesday the Mayor announced the official end of the campaign after it had been put on pause last December to gauge public interest in the project.
The announcement was not unexpected as reports of the effort’s impending demise appeared in Japanese media last week.
Sapporo was the first Asian city to host the Winter Olympics in 1972.
“The scandals from late last year led to public distrust” Akimoto, who was re-elected this year on a pro-Olympics platform, said at the press conference according the The Japan Times.
“It was also difficult to gain people’s understanding over rising costs that would create a burden for citizens.”
He also cautiously confirmed that his Hokkaido capital would still vie for a Winter Games further in the future, perhaps as early as 2034 – despite the probability that those Games will go to Salt Lake City in an award that could happen as early as next year.
The timing is not on Sapporo’s side as later this week the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will conduct important annual meetings in Mumbai, India and could discuss a schedule for a 2030 and 2034 Winter Games double allocation and possibly a process to choose a group of permanent hosts. Sapporo would be left out of these decisions.
“There’s a possibility that moving forward with the bid movement too hastily will leave an irrecoverable wound on the value of sports,” Yamashita said, according to Kyodo News.
“I’m sorry for the people of Sapporo and Hokkaido.”
Since the 2030 race was virtually reset last December by the IOC after bids from Vancouver and Barcelona stepped out due to internal political issues and Sapporo hit pause, three strong European project have stepped forward.
Last week a joint project from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur in France received the backing of 100 elected officials across the country.
A developing bid from Switzerland received support from a slim majority in a poll conducted last month, a positive indication from a nation that had rejected the Olympics in referendums over the past decade.
The Stockholm-Åre 2026 bid that was defeated by Italy’s Milano-Cortina has been resurrected as a nation-wide effort and early results of a feasibility study have been promising.
These bids are eying 2030 and beyond and could prove to be a difficult hurdle for a future Japanese Olympic bid.
Sapporo originally launched a bid to host the 2026 Winter Games but postponed the project to 2030 in response to the 2018 Hokkaido earthquake and recovery efforts. It had been considered a strong frontrunner for months until news of the Tokyo 2020 scandals dominated headlines in Japan and soured public support for the Olympics.
Despite work to build a more robust management plan, officials were unable to recover sufficient support through community outreach.
The IOC could name preferred candidates as early as December and officials have said they hope to name a 2030 host next year in Paris ahead of the Olympic Games.
