Salt Lake City and Sapporo, Japan are still in the running.
As far as sporting events go, the Olympic Games can be a marvelous experience for athletes particularly those who participate in relatively obscure sports. But the business of the Olympics Games is a massive problem. It costs taxpayers too much money to build venues for a two-week sports orgy and the return on the investment is minimal if there is a return. The Olympic Games business is a black hole for most municipalities and that is why Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is out of the running for the 2030 Winter Olympics. Provincial leaders have said no to investing money in a 2030 Winter Olympics bid. “I just think it’s the wrong time,” said Lisa Beare, British Columbia’s minister for tourism, arts, culture and sport, “It is an extraordinary expense for the people of British Columbia.” She added that other than the backers in Vancouver there was a lack of public enthusiasm “demonstrated to us that you need to have broad overwhelming support from the public and that hasn’t been demonstrated with the 2030 Winter Olympics.” Provincial officials could not “justify the $1.2 billion in direct costs and $1 billion in liability risk at a time when people are concerned about health care, public safety, and inflation.” The Canadian dollar is around 73 cents against the US dollar and building costs are rising.
Vancouver is just the latest area to say no thanks to the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Games governing body. Where does this leave the IOC in finding a 2030 venue? Two areas still want the Games, Salt Lake City, Utah and Sapporo, Japan. The mayor of Sapporo, Japan, cancelled a trip to meet with the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland, because of opposition in the city to the bid. Taxpayers are not interested in subsidizing the event.
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