The series continues. After Graubünden last February, another Olympic project was rejected following a popular consultation. Residents of the Tyrol region of Austria voted in a referendum against Innsbruck's bid for the Winter Games in 2026. They said "nein". End of the story.
The vote was organized on Sunday October 15, on the sidelines of the legislative elections in Austria. The question posed to the residents of Tyrol's 279 municipalities was: “Can Tyrol deliver an economically and environmentally sustainable Olympic Games 2026? »
Subtle, certainly. But the response was inconclusive. The no vote won with a majority of 53,56% of the votes. In Innsbuck, the candidate town, opponents of the project were even more numerous, with the no vote receiving 67,41% of the votes cast. Small consolation for those supporting the candidacy, the stations of Tyrol, including Hochfilzen and Soelden, voted mainly in favor of yes.
On paper, the Innsbruck 2026 project did not seem likely to frighten the population. It even wanted to be “economically and ecologically sustainable”, with a budget of 1,175 billion euros. Host of the Winter Games in 1964 and 1976, and more recently the Youth Games in 2012, the city proposed using existing infrastructure and only building temporary venues. His file planned to include the athletes' village in the development plan for a district of Innsbruck.
Better: the budget for the Games did not include a penny of public money. Last June, the Austrian government assured him of its support. The political parties were also in favor, with the exception of the Greens and an independent group, the Fritz List.
A risk-free project. A near political consensus. A file with real chances of victory, in a geopolitical context a priori favorable to Europe and the traditional winter sports nations. Innsbruck 2026 had all that, but the people of Tyrol didn't want it. Beyond the project, she spoke out against the very idea of the Games. A form of motion of no confidence in the Olympic movement, in line with the no to the referendum for Hamburg 2024, or even to a lesser extent the petition for a consultation on Budapest 2024.
Who benefits from the Austrian withdrawal? At first glance, to its direct competitors. With one less rival, Sion, Calgary, Sapporo, Almaty, Erzurum or Stockholm see the ground clear. But further analysis, it is not certain that the no vote in the Austrian referendum serves their interests. In Calgary, the city council is still hesitant. Innsbruck's withdrawal could give it arguments to move towards refusal. It is always easier, in fact, to go with the direction of the wind, especially in politics. Same thinking for Stockholm, where the political authorities are struggling to agree to support the project.
There remains the case of Sion 2026. The Swiss Federal Council postponed its decision last week on the support to be given to the candidacy. In the event that he gives it the green light, the Sion team may have to overcome the obstacle of a referendum. Here too, opponents of the project would have an easy time brandishing the Austrian example to encourage voters to go with the wind.
