At a time when Switzerland is preparing to lift the veil on the contours of a new Olympic and Paralympic project, Swiss public opinion seems to approve the approach initiated by Swiss Olympic for a candidacy designed on the scale of the entire country.
(Credits – Crans Montana)
A few days before the presentation of the conclusions of the feasibility study for a Swiss candidacy for the Winter Games, an online survey* by the daily “20 Minutes” et “Tamedia” among several thousand readers reveals a measured enthusiasm about such an enterprise.
Even if the framing of the project must still be refined before being officially submitted for approval to the Executive Council of Swiss Olympic, in mid-October, 55% of those questioned declared themselves favorable to the idea of a sustainable concept based on the mobilization of sites throughout the country. Conversely, 41% of respondents expressed their opposition.
Unsurprisingly, the 18-34 age group is the one among whom the prospect of a candidacy for the 2030 Olympics is most appreciated, with 66% of respondents saying they agree with this ambition.
Among supporters of the various Swiss political groups or parties, the idea of a candidacy is also mostly supported, with the notable exception of environmentalists from the Grüne movement (46%-53%).
In fact, the highest rates of support are to be found in the center and center-right of the political spectrum, among voters of the Liberal-Radical Party (FDP, 71%), supporters of the Le Center movement (Mitte , 66%), but also with the Vert’Liberaux (GLP, 60%).
For the rest, support appears less strong among supporters of the Democratic Union of the Center (SVP), a party classified on the right (51%), as well as among activists of the Swiss Socialist Party (SP), on the left ( 50%).
The Olympic rings in front of the Olympic House in Lausanne (Credits – IOC / Christophe Moratal)
In any case, a little more than five years after the rejection by referendum of the candidacy of Sion 2026, this survey perhaps marks a turning point in the popular perception of an event long considered expensive and disproportionate for a country like Switzerland, even though it is one of the cradles of winter sports culture in Europe and the world.
Also, the figures from this survey support the positioning adopted by Swiss Olympic which, since spring 2023, has been carrying out a global reflection on the conditions of a candidacy, taking into account past failures – including the aborted candidacies of 2022 and 2026 – and reforms initiated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for less expensive and more sustainable projects.
As Alexander Wäfler, spokesperson for Swiss Olympic, stated:
These results confirm that our project is going in the right direction.
Of course, we are aware that ultimately the public’s opinion rests on the way in which the Olympic Games are developed in detail..
In recent weeks, certain elements have also been put forward to formalize a candidacy not built around a city or even a canton, but the country as a whole.
A way of preparing public opinion for the fact that the Games could be an event on the scale of all of Switzerland, with the support and participation of a large part of the Communities and the mobilization of the vast majority of already existing infrastructures and operational.
As the Swiss Olympic body explained in this regard on August 13:
Swiss Olympic and the Winter Sports Federations have already identified several important conditions for this vision of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to become a reality: in Switzerland, no city (“Host City”) or region comes into line account alone.
Instead, Switzerland would lend its name as the organizing country to the 203X Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games – and the competition venues would be spread across the country.
Switzerland would thus become the first “Host Country” in Olympic history..
Opening ceremony of the Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games at the Vaudoise Aréna, January 9, 2020 (Credits – IOC / Christophe Moratal)
From now on, the bearers of the Olympic and Paralympic ambition will work on finalizing the outlines of the project – in particular the essential financial part – which will be presented on October 19 to the members of the Swiss Olympic Executive Council.
If the latter validates the project and decides to continue the adventure, the candidacy will then be submitted for approval to the Sports Parliament whose delegates will meet on November 24, 2023, a little over a month after the IOC Session in Bombay (India) and shortly before the institution in Lausanne (Switzerland) engaged in a targeted dialogue with one or more of the contenders competing for the 2030 Olympics.
Like the other declared candidacies, Switzerland is in any case moving towards an intensification of exchanges with the IOC.
Sweden is also preparing to deliver the conclusions of its own feasibility study, while France is currently refining a new concept based on the French Alps, between the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte-Regions. Azure.
On the United States side, Salt Lake City (Utah) has for many months appeared above the fray, both in the constitution of a project developed over the years and benefiting at the same time from significant popular and institutional support. , as well as in the way of approaching the coming months, with a preference given to the deadline for the 2034 Olympic Games.
* Survey carried out online by “20 Minutes” and “Tamedia” among 29,081 people, September 19 and 20, 2023.
