Long leading the race for the Winter Games in 2030, then presented as a candidate for the next edition, the Japanese city of Sapporo could finally postpone its Olympic project for another four years. The mayor of the capital of Hokkaido Prefecture, Katsuhiro Akimoto, used a city council meeting to suggest focusing efforts on the Games in 2038. “ If our bid for the 2034 Games is unsuccessful, I would like to meet again with the parties concerned for further discussions, explained Katsuhiro Akimoto, quoted by the Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun. The importance we place on an Olympic bid will remain unchanged. » The mayor of Sapporo has not yet formally abandoned the Olympic project for 2034, but his remarks to municipal officials suggest that he no longer really believes in victory. With the IOC's decision for a double vote 2030-2034, validated last week by the session in Mumbai, the Japanese city seems condemned to postpone its ambition. Katsuhiro Akimoto has in fact never hidden the fact that it would take time to regain public confidence, weighed down by the corruption cases linked to the Tokyo 2020 Games. But time, Sapporo really doesn't have any more, the IOC Executive Board to choose and announce the candidates selected for the targeted dialogue phase at its next meeting, scheduled for November 29 to December 1 in Paris.
