April 19, 2018 (Calgary, AB) – The city of Calgary’s hot and then cold interest in making a bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics is heating up again after a push from Mayor Naheed Nenshi swung a tight city council vote in his favour reaffirming the continued bid exploration, according to a recent CBC media report.

There is a certain number of councillors speaking out against the bid, and when it was thought that others were also coming out against further exploration, a non-confidence vote was put to council.

As the potential bid was hanging in the balance, numerous high-profile Canadian athletes, including many former Olympians, such as Luge athlete Jeff Christie and swimmer Mark Tewksbury, held a rally in the city to encourage the continuation of the bid.

The Calgary Bid Exploration Committee had been putting in its due diligence on the file since last summer and had pegged the cost of hosting the Games at $4.6 billion, but along with the legacy of sporting memories and facilities comes long-lasting debt. For instance, it took Vancouver four years to pay off the debt after it hosted the Games.

The Calgary bid received a positive shot in the arm last January when the IOC determined that many of the facilities used in the 1988 Olympic Games in Calgary would qualify for use again in 2026.

Even bidding to host the Games is a very expensive proposition with no guarantee of success. Just last week, several councillors were up in arms over spending almost $2 million for a public consultation plan leading up to a bid.

In addition to Calgary, there are numerous cities considering making bids for the Games that have joined the International Olympic Committee’s official “dialogue” stage and took part in the 2018 Observer Programme in PyeongChang, South Korea including Sapporo, Japan; Sion, Switzerland; and Stockholm, Sweden.

The winning bid will be announced in September, 2019.

CBC report here.

City of Calgary bid information site here.