A survey of several hundred British Columbians published Friday yielded some interesting results about a 2030 Olympic bid. Fifty-five percent of those surveyed by Insights West were in support of a bid for Metro Vancouver to host the 2030 Winter Games.
However, that support jumped to 77% with the condition that no public money be spent on the games (i.e., they would be entirely privately funded).
(BLazerus / Pixabay)
Regardless of personal support for the 2030 Olympics being held here, respondents overwhelmingly believed that the games would benefit the local economy greatly via job creation, post-COVID tourism generation, and would result in useful new infrastructure for post-games use.
There is already a grassroots movement in ardent support of the 2030 Winter Games being held locally. Simply called Vancouver 2030, the volunteer-based movement posits that the 2030 games would be “cost-effective (and) debt-free”, given the extant facilities and infrastructure from the 2010 Olympics.
Although this organization is not affiliated in any way with the Canadian Olympic Committee, they see an opportunity for these Olympic Games to be more socially responsible, and focus on sustainability, diversity, and equity.
Vancouver has not yet made any formal bid to host the Olympics, but City Council voted in March to proceed with an analysis of the potential impact that these games could have. This includes a critical look back at the 2010 games.
Vancouver 2030 Bid Corporation President Mark Hamilton released a statement expressing his support for #VancouverCityCouncil after council voted to approve the motion to continue looking at the feasibility of bringing the #WinterOlympic & #Paralympic Games back to #Vancouver pic.twitter.com/gXzfVwRjWI
— Vancouver 2030 (@2030Vancouver) April 1, 2021
The 2010 Olympics were generally an economic and infrastructural success, as well as a point of national athletic pride. Not only did Canada win the most gold medals that year, but it was the first time Canada had won any gold medals in an Olympic Games that it hosted.
Among athletic victories, there was a LGBTQIA+ victory at the 2010 Winter Games, as well. Vancouver was the first host city to accommodate queer athletes with a Pride House.
Considering all those high points, the 2010 Olympics are going to be a hard act to follow. It is, if nothing else, interesting to see that British Columbians are open to trying.