The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday touted an 80% reduction of candidature budgets for bidding on the 2026 Winter Olympics, satisfying recommendation 3 of the organizations Olympic Agenda 2020. That recommendation called for a dramatic reduction in the cost to bid to host the Olympic Games.
An independent audit of costs showed that bidding for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games cost the average host less than $5 million, as compared to an average cost of around $35 million to bid on the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. The 2022 Games were awarded to Beijing via a vote in 2015, prior to the IOC’s new Agenda 2020 initiative.
Beijing won that vote by a margin of 44 to 40 over Almaty, Kazakhstan after Oslo, Norway withdrew from the final round. Oslo was considered a front-runner at the time of its withdrawal.
The 2026 Winter Olympics are being hosted by the cities of Milan and Cortina in Italy. The Italian model, which will incorporate a number of cities in northern Italy, won by a vote of 47-34 over the Stockholm-Are bid from Sweden. The other four candidates withdrew from consideration.
As the cost of hosting the Games has skyrocketed and more questions have arisen about the long-term financial impacts of winning the bid, it has become harder-and-harder to find qualified bidders for the Games.
Part of the hope in reducing the cost of a bid is that it will reduce the risk-reward equation for cities weighing a bid – the huge cost of even being considered for the right to host can be a big hit for cities and countries that don’t ultimately emerge from the process.
“With Olympic Agenda 2020, we have a more flexible and collaborative approach to help interested parties align the Games with their long-term ambitions,” said IOC President Thomas Bach. “This has made creating Olympic Games projects much more affordable and accessible, which was proven by the Candidature Process 2026 and the many expressions of interest we have received for future Olympic Games.”
The IOC achieved this cost reduction by providing many of the services that go into developing a bid to the hosts.
The IOC Explains:
The 2026 process was completely reformed to increase partnership, flexibility and sharing of knowledge. It featured a one-year non-committal Dialogue Stage, during which the IOC worked hand in hand with seven Interested Cities and National Olympic Committees.
Additional support was offered to help them develop Games projects that could best fit their local context as well as their needs and long-term development plans.
Technical services that candidates would have had to procure themselves to be able to design their projects in the past were provided at IOC cost and in partnership with its stakeholders. These included interactive working sessions and visits by experts to offer advice and assistance in areas such as Games concept, governance and operations, legal, marketing, finance, sustainability, and legacy.
In addition to a reduced number of deliverables and presentations, the additional investment from the IOC in services and support has paid off by reducing costs and creating projects that are better suited for the future of hosts and the Olympic Movement.
The IOC says that after the 2026 election, they have further targeted and streamline the approach to future host selections. This new approach will allow countries and cities to enter into dialogue with the IOC about their interest in hosting a future Games without making an edition-specific bid in the early stages. The new process will also allow the IOC to target a potential host if they believe that a particular host would benefit the Olympic Movement.