The figure says a lot about the state of the site. Over the last seven years, 10 referendums on an Olympic project have been organized in cities or regions in the bidding phase for the Games, winter or summer. Counting the latest one, marked on Sunday June 10 by a no from the population of Valais to the Winter Olympics in Sion in 2026, only two were positive. In the eight other consultations, the no vote won, sometimes by a large majority.

Another alarming sign: in the more ancient past, the “vote” had twice been favorable to a candidacy for Sion for the Winter Games. In July 1969, then in June 1997. The idea of ​​organizing the Games in Valais was then almost unanimous. Today, its supporters are in the minority.

Upon learning the result of the referendum on the Sion 2026 project, the IOC issued, as usual, a sober press release on Sunday June 10. The Olympic organization emphasizes that the inhabitants of Valais formed an opinion on the cost of the Games from “ of outdated information”. She also points out that her “ recent reforms », intended to reduce the bill for the event, “were not taken into consideration”.

The IOC is telling the truth. In Beijing, last week, the PyeongChang 2018 delegation that came to present its account book during the post-Olympic debriefing announced, not without pride, a budget surplus estimated at “ several million dollars”. The Games are profitable, therefore, provided that we do not embark on the construction of new winter sports resorts from a blank page, as the Russians tried to do during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games.

The IOC is also telling the truth about its reforms. Agenda 2020, adopted in December 2014 in Monaco, then the New Standard, presented last February in PyeongChang, are full of good ideas for making something new out of something old, limiting expenses and saving the taxpayer.

And yet, the referendums follow one another and the no wins. Proof that the perception of the Games among the general public, at least in Europe, is not changing. The event remains associated with additional costs, waste and white elephants. “ Three weeks of partying, 30 years of debt”, hammered the anti-Games before the referendum on the Sion 2026 project. Obviously, the message proved more convincing than the efforts of the bid team to explain the subtleties of Agenda 2020 and the innovations of the New Standard.

By suddenly awarding the 2024 Summer Games to Paris and 2028 to Los Angeles, the IOC has not only given itself some air. He also bet on two editions that are fairly reliable and solid on their legs to give the rings a less tarnished image. Possible. But not sure. In Paris, the map of sites has already been retouched several times, the future Olympic center is still written in the conditional, and the risk of additional costs is underlined thickly in a report from the General Inspectorate of Finance. Not ideal for restoring total public confidence in the budgetary control of the Games.

What to do? For Balazs Fürjes, the former president of Budapest 2024, also forced to park on the side of the road in the run-up to a referendum, it is urgent that the IOC decide to support the candidate cities in their efforts to mobilize population. Support which could notably relate to a large-scale communication campaign.

For Florian Chappot, a municipal councilor in Sion, in charge of Social Affairs, the time has perhaps come for the IOC to share with the organizers the risks of budget overruns. “ The IOC cannot only accumulate profits but must share risks with organizers, he wrote on Twitter on the evening of the failure of the referendum on Sion 2026. The IOC must abandon the idea of ​​a city being the organizer and taking all the risks. »

In the meantime, another candidate city may soon have to face the obstacle of a popular consultation. In Graz, Austria, the Austrian Communist Party (KPO) is calling for the organization of a referendum on the candidacy for the 2026 Winter Games. One of its elected officials, Elke Kahr, commented on the victory of the no in the Swiss Valais: “ This result encourages us in our desire to force the organization of a referendum in Graz.".

The KPO launched a petition last January to submit the Olympic project to popular consultation. According to figures announced by the party, it has already collected 9.500 signatures. At least 10.000 are needed for the organization of a referendum. Last October, the population of Innsbruck voted against the city's candidacy for the Winter Games in 2026.