Ready for another one? John Furlong wants the city to pitch for the 2030 Olympic Games
Credit to Author: Harrison Mooney| Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2020 02:54:07 +0000
The man who co-led the successful bid for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver wants to bring the event back.
John Furlong, former president and CEO of the Vancouver Olympic Committee, ignited a firestorm of debate Thursday when he told the Vancouver Board of Trade that Vancouver should pitch for the 2030 Winter Olympics.
“I am regularly asked could we do it again? I think we could. Should we do it again? Same answer, I think we should,” Furlong said in a speech based on an open letter dated for Saturday, the day of the Vancouver 2010 Celebration Festival at Jack Poole Plaza, the site of the Olympic Cauldron.
Furlong, 69, argued that the IOC would likely welcome the bid, and that Vancouver’s experience — not to mention its pre-existing Olympic infrastructure — would give the city a leg up.
The sports administrator also anticipated another round of debate over the city’s financial priorities, reminding that these concerns “eventually subsided against the evidence of spectacular infrastructure, world-class venues, and massive public engagement that stretched all the way to Newfoundland.”
Furlong went on to argue that a 2030 Olympics could lead to solutions to Vancouver’s many “challenges” by uniting citizens under a shared vision.
“I hope we don’t have to wait 10 years for that,” snapped Coun. Jean Swanson. “Oh my God.”
Ten years ago, Swanson was an organizer of the Poverty Olympics, which saw Downtown Eastside activists stage their own Games, complete with their own mascots: Itchy the bedbug, Chewy the rat and Creepy the cockroach. Now a Vancouver city councillor, her stance has not changed: if the money spent on the Olympics was spent on ending poverty and homelessness, these issues would be solved.
The 2010 Olympics cost $4 billion to host.
“We have some serious crises in the city now,” said Swanson. “The opioid crisis, the housing crisis, the homelessness crisis — those have got to be our top priorities, not another game.”
Other leaders were reluctant to throw water on a 2030 bid, especially with nostalgia for the 2010 Games at a fever-pitch during the 10th anniversary celebrations.
Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart called a potential 2030 Olympics a “fun idea” for the city, but stressed it would be up to provincial and federal governments to make a call on whether to look at a bid and provide necessary funding. He also said he would want a referendum for residents to vote on the idea if there was any thought of going ahead.
“I’m sure if senior governments threw enough money at this, it could all work,” Stewart said. “Really, that’s why it’s their decision whether or not to move ahead with something like this.”
B.C. tourism minister Lisa Beare, meanwhile, acknowledged the fond memories citizens have for the 2010 Games, before adding that no one at the province was working on anything like this.
“If Mr. Furlong wants to start organizing that and start putting that proposal together, I’d be happy to take a look at it,” she said.
Sapporo, Salt Lake City and Barcelona have all been mentioned as possible candidates for the 2030 Winter Olympics.
with files from The Canadian Press
CLICK HERE to report a typo.
Is there more to this story? We’d like to hear from you about this or any other stories you think we should know about. Email vantips@postmedia.com.