Vancouver City Council agreed Tuesday to defer a motion to investigate a possible 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games bid to a meeting on April 1.
Councillor Melissa De Genova said that deferring the motion would allow for further input from the four First Nations along with possible amendments and information from city staff and invited speakers.
De Genova emphasized that a city council vote to defer the motion, or to approve the motion on April 1 is not intended to show an endorsement for an Olympic bid, but only to allow “some simple work” to be done before decisions are made.
The approved motion would empower Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart to, on behalf of city council, reach out to the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) along with four First Nations for their input and guidance on a potential bid. Stewart would also engage with British Columbia Premier John Horgan and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to seek funding for a possible competitive bid, and further commitments to fund any necessary infrastructure projects should the city be awarded the Games.
The passed motion will also prompt city staff to further investigate the feasibility of hosting the Games and consider holding a public referendum over the bid.
But further delays by city council could knock Vancouver out of the running for its second Olympic Games.
On Tuesday the City of Hamilton submitted a proposal to bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, and Commonwealth Sport Canada (CSC) will announce by March 31 whether the Ontario city will bid internationally for the centennial edition of the Games that were born in the same city.
Both Hamilton 2030 and Vancouver 2030 would seek the same limited federal government financial support.
Vancouver City Council Motion Could Kick Start 2030 Olympic Winter Games Bid
Last month on the tenth anniversary of the 2010 Games former Vancouver 2010 CEO John Furlong who now chairs rail tour company Rocky Mountaineer pledged CAD $100,000 (USD $73,000) towards the launch of a new bid.
In January the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Barcelona, Salt Lake City and Sapporo had discussed interest in bidding for the 2030 Games. More recently a newly formed Salt Lake City bid group hinted its bid could be for the 2034 Games instead and the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) confirmed that Sapporo has the national nomination to secure the 2030 edition. Barcelona is still considering its options.
There are no set timetables or deadlines in the newly reformed Olympic bid process but IOC President Thomas Bach hinted in January that the host city could be named as early as this year. The IOC Future Host Commission is already discussing current proposals and a Vancouver bid would need to land on Commission Chair Octavian Morariu’s desk soon if it is to receive consideration.
