Vancouver’s bid for the 2030 Winter Games is moving forward. It is doing so at its own pace, without trying to rush the process, but it is moving forward. The city council of the capital of British Columbia, meeting on Wednesday, July 20, voted by a large majority to continue the project. Eight elected officials voted in favour of moving forward with the bid, with only two expressing an opposing opinion. In practical terms, the council’s vote in favour only means that the project team can continue its work. But Vancouver has not yet officially filed a bid. During the same meeting, on Wednesday, the city council discussed a report supposedly confidential, but shared by the media, pointing out both the financial risks of a possible bid and the delay taken by Vancouver in the campaign for the Winter Games in 2030. Unlike Sapporo, presented as the favorite, the Canadian city is always at the stage of the feasibility study. The IOC has suggested on several occasions that its executive board could designate a preferred candidate as early as December 2022, for a vote at the Mumbai session in June 2023. Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) President Tricia Smith sought to reassure Vancouver’s elected officials about the financial risks. Earlier in the week, the COC released a question and answer document explaining that the British Columbia project is still well on track to be selected by the IOC.
