The Olympics is one of the most significant competitions in sports because it is a rare time where national pride is genuinely on the line, with countries competing against other countries.
There is a great effort put in to be declared the city that will host such an international event. Cities put in an Olympic bid to gain the spotlight of the entire world, but some do not know what they are getting themselves into.
Truthfully, the Olympics are costly even for a host city to undertake. The average sport-related cost for the Olympics is $12 billion.
Yet, some cities still wish to host the Olympics — or another one in Vancouver’s case. Vancouver currently looks like a favourite to host the 2030 Winter Olympics in Canada.
Four First Nations in British Columbia have asked the city to join in a bid, which could be finalized later this year. With the 2022 Winter Olympics winding down in Beijing,
Will they end up winning the bid? And, is it worth it for them to host another Winter Olympics 20 years later? Let’s take a look.
Who are the competing bids for the 2030 Winter Olympics?
For the 2030 Winter Olympics, three primary bids are on the table to potentially get the nod. The first is Vancouver, and it appears to be the favourite because the city has more existing infrastructure in place that can host an event of this size.
In 2010, Vancouver spent about $6.4 billion to get the security, transportation, and new infrastructure, among other things, that it needed to host the Games.
Vancouver can reuse many of their venues and have experience with these games, having hosted the games just 12 years ago. This gives them an advantage over competing cities.
One of the biggest competitors for the 2030 Winter Olympics is Sapporo, Japan. This city also has experience with hosting the Winter Olympics. However, their previous experience is a bit more dated, going back to 1972.
A few things are going against Sapporo. The first is that Japan just got the Summer Olympics with Tokyo last year, and that went down as one of the most expensive Olympic Games ever for a host city.
The second problem for Sapporo is that would have to build new venues and hope the same country would be awarded the Olympics for the second time in 10 years.
A third bid is a joint one between Barcelona and Pyrenees. Right now, this is looking like the least likely option, partially because a joint bid has never been successful before.
US Olympic Committee organizers are kicking around a Salt Lake City and Park City joint bid in Utah.
Previous Olympics in Canada
Canada has been in the spotlight thrice in the past for the Olympics. Two were for the Winter Games, including Vancouver, in 2010. The other Winter Olympics that Canada hosted was in 1988 in Calgary. But, Montreal was the first Canadian city to host when the Summer Games were held there in 1976.
Financially, the winter hosts had some decent success in the Olympics. Both made a profit without spending a significant amount of money. Montreal, on the other hand, had a cost overrun that left the city in debt for 30 years.
As for tourism, Vancouver saw some immediate success thanks to the Olympics. British Columbia had a 24% increase in visitors in February 2010 compared to that same time in 2009.
Tourism continued to increase the following year, with a 1.4% increase in revenue compared to 2010. Plus, British Columbia saw a significant jump from a decade ago, increasing revenue by 39% from 2001 to 2011.
The best part for Vancouver was that they not only built venues that could still be useful for the long-term, but they have put those venues to use for other events. They could no re-use many of them in their current 2030 Winter Olympics bid.
Toronto and Montreal Hosting Olympics?
There have been talks since the beginning of 2021 that Toronto and Montreal might submit a joint bid to host a future Summer Olympics.
At first, the discussion was to prepare the bid for the 2032 or 2036 Summer Olympics. However, on July 2t, 2021, the 2032 Summer Olympics were awarded to Brisbane, Australia, without a rival bid to challenge it.
This pushed discussion for another possible Canada Olympics back to at least 2036.
Toronto recently hosted a big international event with the Pan Am Games back in 2015. The plan for the 2036 bid is to include a lot of the venues used for those Pan Am Games.
Right now, there are about 16 different bids that are being discussed with no clear favourite at the moment. The only major competitor in the North American region appears to be Mexico, which also wants to submit a joint bid between Guadalajara, Mexico City, Tijuana, and Monterrey.
Only about half of the bids out there right now are by a single city.
One of the most notable cities in the running appears to be Istanbul, Turkey, which has been unsuccessful in three recent bids. Another big city putting itself in the running is Seoul, South Korea.
Vancouver is the front-runner to get the 2030 Winter Olympics. If that city gets that, it could hurt the momentum to have a Summer Olympics in Canada just six years later.
Who are the next host Olympics cities?
After Beijing this month, the Olympics will move on to Paris, as France will host the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Here are the next handful of hosts for the Games:
- 2024: Paris, France (Summer)
- 2026: Milan Cortina, Italy (Winter)
- 2028: Los Angeles, USA (Summer)
- 2030: TBD (Winter)
- 2032: Brisbane, Australia (Summer)
Will Canada Win Another Olympic Bid?
There is certainly a lot to be excited about right now regarding Canada and the possibility of winning an Olympic bid. While Toronto and Montreal may be less likely, Vancouver should host a Winter Olympics in the next decade if there are no significant changes.
Check back for the latest on the possibility of seeing the Olympics in Canada.
