Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps says she is enthusiastic about the potential for the Island to be involved in the 2030 Winter Olympics.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a really exciting opportunity and an inspiring vision,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a recovery and community-building opportunity. It would be exciting to pursue.鈥�
The concept of a province-wide sa国际传媒 2030 Winter Olympics bid met with generally positive reviews Wednesday in a video-conference meeting that included bid proponent John Furlong and Island politicians and business leaders. Furlong was president and CEO of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
鈥淚t was a great briefing,鈥� said Helps. 鈥淲e did it once before with Victoria and Vancouver sharing the 2019 world junior hockey championship and it鈥檚 a great opportunity to do it again to showcase sa国际传媒 communities to the world.鈥�
There has been speculation about 2030 curling being held at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre and cross-country and Nordic skiing events on Mount Washington. The bid, however, is in the early stages and nothing specific has been decided.
The vote on where the Games will be held will take place in 2023 during an International Olympic Committee session in Mumbai, India. In sa国际传媒, Quebec City has expressed interest, while other jurisdictions around the world who would like to play host include Salt Lake City, Utah; Sapporo, Japan; and Barcelona-Pyrenees, Spain. Only one Canadian bid can move forward.
The Winter Olympics are scheduled for Feb. 8-24, 2030.
Anthony Everett, CEO of Tourism Vancouver Island, who was chair of the 2015 sa国际传媒 Winter Games in Prince George, called the concept of letting smaller sa国际传媒 communities be part of a bigger event 鈥渢errific.鈥�
Bruce Williams, CEO of the Victoria Chamber of Commerce, said it鈥檚 a 鈥渃ool idea in that it spreads the economic benefits around the province.鈥� 鈥淭his was just an exploratory first meeting but it could lead to a great outcome for Victoria and the Island.鈥�
Furlong, who has strong Island connections from his time as Nanaimo regional director of parks and recreation from 1979 to 1987, said while the 2010 Games 鈥渓eft a profound mark on all of us,鈥� the Lower Mainland got most of the benefits.
鈥淭his 2030 bid spreads it around,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t allows communities [outside the Lower Mainland] to dream about being part of the Olympics.鈥�
The early bid process has been remarkable for the lack of talk about provincial government involvement. Furlong has proposed a mostly private-sector bid. 鈥淲hat we are proposing is unprecedented 鈥� a fully self-sustaining Games,鈥� he said.
The bid envisions no funding for new facilities, with all events taking place in existing venues. Furlong said sa国际传媒 communities looking to be part of the Winter Games could apply to provincial or federal infrastructure programs to upgrade their venues to Olympic standard. Each interested community would be responsible for submitting their own proposal to be part of the sa国际传媒 2030 Games.
Furlong said he would like to hear something from the provincial government, which has remained largely tight-lipped about the potential bid.
The federal government will also likely be involved in helping to stage the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Hamilton, Ont.
