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Waiting for the formalization of the CIO's invitation to proceed with the candidacy to host the Winter Games of 2026, let's go to the discovery of the projects of the opponents of Milan-Cortina, starting with Stockholm.
Saturday 6 October 2018 9 minutes reading time
THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIO
Stockholm is "a modern global capital with a historical center, Stockholm offers places in the heart of the city that raise and energize the experience of the Games" reads the report of the Working Group on the 2026 Winter Olympic Games which recommended IOC to proceed with the invitation to the application phase. "Sweden has the hosting experience, the love for winter sports and the World Cup venues necessary for the allocation of the Games. In line with the Olympic Agenda 2020, Stockholm has developed a concept of Games that respond to the future needs of the city and aims to improve the lives of all its citizens ".
THE HISTORY OF THE PROJECT
After the very short experience of the candidature for the Olympic Games of 2022, announced by the Swedish Olympic Committee in November 2013 and withdrawn two months later due to the absence of political support from the government coalition and the municipality governed by the moderate party, Stockholm there try again. The NOC presented the project for the first time in January 2017 and is still trying to gain political support, expected by the IOC no later than next January, in a scenario changed by last month's elections that returned a parliament stuck with 40% left and right and the Democrats in the balance with their 18%.
THE RACE OFFICES
The concept presented a year and a half ago is based on three geographical areas.
The hydrogeological configuration of Sweden makes it necessary to use Åre to host all the disciplines that require important slopes as happened on the 7 previous occasions in which Sweden has applied to host the Winter Games. The venue for the next Alpine Ski World Championships, located 600 km from Stockholm and reachable in seven hours by car or train and a couple of hours with flight to Östersund and one hour of road transfer, would host all the races of Alpine Skiing, and the Cross and Slopestyle trials of Snowboard and Freestyle.
The need to contain investments and organize a sustainable Olympics leads to the use of Falun's Trampoline (already nominated in 1988 and 1992), a city 200 km from Stockholm that has already hosted the Nordic World Ski Championships five times, the last one in 2015, for the Ski jumping and Nordic Combined competitions.
The main core remains, however, in the area of ​​the capital. Stockholm will host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies in the Friend Arena, the new football stadium that hosted the Europa League final in 2017. The panorama of the disciplines of the snow is completed by the Olympic Stadium (built in 1910) where, as already happened for some stages of the World Cup, it is planned to host the Big Air and Aerial competitions. Cross Country Skiing and Biathlon require the construction of a new 50,000-person Ski Stadium which, as a first option, should be located in the Tullinge area, a suburb south-west of Stockholm, only 20 km from the city center and the Hammarbybacken artificial hill, reachable in 10 minutes from the center, it should be raised from the current 85 meters to 110 meters in order to perform the Halfpipe and Slalom Parallel Alpine Ski competitions. Half an hour's drive from Stockholm another artificial hill, Flottsbrobacken, should be raised to allow for the dispute of the Moguls and Gigante Parallel competitions for the Snowboard.
In the original plans Hammarbybacken should have also hosted the new casing for the Bob, Skeleton and Sledding races. Over the months there has been a long discussion about the possibility of using the Sigulda World Cup track in Latvia on a one-day ferry trip from Stockholm; an alternative that has not completely vanished and will be evaluated during the development of the application.
Turning to ice sports, the Figure Skating ticket - Short Track is located in the Tele2 Arena, a football stadium with retractable coverage. In the Olympic conformation the facility, which will host the World Figure Championships in 2021, would be covered and could be provisionally divided into two. A few steps away, the Ericsson Globe will host the Hockey Tournament, while a little further south the Gubbängen district is destined to house the Curling in the plant currently under construction and ready for 2019 which can host 3000 spectators with temporary stands; Nearby there is the new Speed ​​Skating Oval on the track of the current speedway track, which after the Games would be used as a skating and bandy system.
PRO AND AGAINST SECOND GAMESBIDS
Robert Livinsgstone, the founder of Gamesbids.com (reference website for the analysis of Olympic candidacies), underlines the points in favor of Stockholm in the race for the final choice: "There are few plants to be built from scratch and the the fact that it is a nation with strong traditions in winter sports that has never hosted the Olympics can play in its favor ". The most obvious problem is "the total absence of interest from the government at any level." Nobody wants to talk about it ".
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