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Voters in Switzerland reject proposed bid for 2022 Winter Olympics
ST. MORITZ, Switzerland - Primed as the favourite to host the 2022 Winter Olympics at ritzy St. Moritz and Davos, Switzerland won't even bid after the project was rejected in a state referendum Sunday.
Voters in Graubuenden canton (state) voted 52.66 per cent to 47.34 per cent to decide against approving funding.
The "no" voters rejected bid organizers' claims that Olympic hosting would invigorate tourism and the local economy around the well-heeled Alpine resorts.
"The vote of the electors is a big disappointment," the bid team said in a statement.
St. Moritz and Davos residents also voted Sunday, and returned "yes" votes by 61 and 56.2 per cent, respectively.
Still, all three votes had to be in favour to continue a bid that had been supported by the Swiss government and sports governing bodies.
The Swiss Federal Council said last September that public funds should cover 1 billion Swiss francs (US$1.06 billion) of the projected shortfall from staging the Olympics. A feasibility study estimated costs of 2.8 billion Swiss francs and income of 1.5 billion Swiss francs.
"The refusal of the Olympic project by the Graubuenden electors puts an end to it," organizers said.
Switzerland has not hosted the Olympics since the 1948 St. Moritz Winter Games, even as Alpine neighbours Austria, Italy and France have each taken two turns in that time.
The appeal of neighbouring mountain resorts was expected to play well with International Olympic Committee members, especially after a series of Winter Games hosted by big cities and mainly at sea level, such as Turin, Vancouver and Sochi.
The expected St. Moritz-Davos bid had strong backing within the Olympic movement, and was conceived by the Swiss presidents of the influential ice hockey and skiing governing bodies.
Rene Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation is also an IOC board member, while International Ski Federation leader Gian Franco Kasper is a native of St. Moritz.
However, Kasper told The Associated Press he doubted persuading an alliance of local environmentalists, farmers and socialist groups.
"This will be very difficult," Kasper said in January 2012. "Why should the people of Arosa or Laax or Flims say, 'We shall spend our tax money for the rich people in St. Moritz?'"
Sunday's vote found revealed strong opposition from residents in Chur, a gateway town at the foot of the mountains.
"The 2022 bid became a platform for dialogue on the questions of the canton's future," bid organizers acknowledged Sunday.
Switzerland's absence could lure other countries into what is now a more open race. Olympic officials in Spain, Norway and a combined Poland-Slovakia bid have expressed interest.
The IOC will choose the 2022 host in 2015.
Voters in Graubuenden canton (state) voted 52.66 per cent to 47.34 per cent to decide against approving funding.
The "no" voters rejected bid organizers' claims that Olympic hosting would invigorate tourism and the local economy around the well-heeled Alpine resorts.
"The vote of the electors is a big disappointment," the bid team said in a statement.
St. Moritz and Davos residents also voted Sunday, and returned "yes" votes by 61 and 56.2 per cent, respectively.
Still, all three votes had to be in favour to continue a bid that had been supported by the Swiss government and sports governing bodies.
The Swiss Federal Council said last September that public funds should cover 1 billion Swiss francs (US$1.06 billion) of the projected shortfall from staging the Olympics. A feasibility study estimated costs of 2.8 billion Swiss francs and income of 1.5 billion Swiss francs.
"The refusal of the Olympic project by the Graubuenden electors puts an end to it," organizers said.
Switzerland has not hosted the Olympics since the 1948 St. Moritz Winter Games, even as Alpine neighbours Austria, Italy and France have each taken two turns in that time.
The appeal of neighbouring mountain resorts was expected to play well with International Olympic Committee members, especially after a series of Winter Games hosted by big cities and mainly at sea level, such as Turin, Vancouver and Sochi.
The expected St. Moritz-Davos bid had strong backing within the Olympic movement, and was conceived by the Swiss presidents of the influential ice hockey and skiing governing bodies.
Rene Fasel, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation is also an IOC board member, while International Ski Federation leader Gian Franco Kasper is a native of St. Moritz.
However, Kasper told The Associated Press he doubted persuading an alliance of local environmentalists, farmers and socialist groups.
"This will be very difficult," Kasper said in January 2012. "Why should the people of Arosa or Laax or Flims say, 'We shall spend our tax money for the rich people in St. Moritz?'"
Sunday's vote found revealed strong opposition from residents in Chur, a gateway town at the foot of the mountains.
"The 2022 bid became a platform for dialogue on the questions of the canton's future," bid organizers acknowledged Sunday.
Switzerland's absence could lure other countries into what is now a more open race. Olympic officials in Spain, Norway and a combined Poland-Slovakia bid have expressed interest.
The IOC will choose the 2022 host in 2015.
Source: http://ca.sports.yahoo.com
