Mexico officially launches bid for 2036 Olympics

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Mexico’s foreign ministry and the national Olympic committee have launched an official bid for the 2036 Olympics.

Foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard (pictured above) confirmed that a bid committee will be announced on 30th November, with assessments of host cities set to follow.

Mexico City hosted the Olympics in 1968 and Maria Jose Alcala, president of the Mexican Olympic Committee (COM), said International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach expressed enthusiasm for a potential return in official communication in July.

Last month, Ana Gabriela Guevara, director of Mexico’s National Sports Commission and a former Olympic medallist, said it was economically unfeasible for the country to host the Olympics.

Ebrard insists that is not the case under the new host financing system, with Mexico only required to pay ten percent of the total expenses and the country had the infrastructure in place to host the Games already.

“We will initiate the studies requested by the IOC to take into account the changes that have taken place in the Olympic Games financing,” he said.

“The Olympics should fit the cities, not the other way around, not build and then not use the facilities.

“We would have 15 years, enough time to organize it. If Mexico proposes something, it is to achieve it.”

The race to host the 2030 Winter Games is also narrowing, with the British Columbia provincial government confirming it will not support Vancouver’s bid to host the Olympics.

“The current bid has an estimated cost of US$1.2 billion and US$1 billion in additional risk, and when we measured that against our government’s priorities, we believe we need to focus on people,” said Lisa Beare, British Columbia’s sports minister.

The announcement could see the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) formally bow out, leaving just
Salt Lake City in the US and Sapporo, Japan, as the two remaining candidates.

A 2030 Games could create issues for the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) as it would come less than two years after the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and might require a reworking of many of its partnerships for the Summer Games.

The IOC is expected to choose the host for 2030 next year.

Source: El Universal

Mexico Daily Post