Sapporo bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics

Last updated

Bids for the
2030 (2030) Winter Olympics and Paralympics
Overview
XXVI Olympic Winter Games
XV Paralympic Winter Games
Details
City Sapporo, Japan
NOC Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC)
Previous Games hosted
1972 Winter Olympics

The Sapporo bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics was a proposed bid to bring the 2030 Winter Olympics to the city of Sapporo, Japan. [1] After the 1940 Winter Olympics were abandoned due to war, Sapporo previously hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, the first time that the Winter Olympics were held in Asia. They also hosted the 1986 Asian Winter Games, 1990 Asian Winter Games, 2017 Asian Winter Games and most recently the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007 and 2015 World Women's Curling Championship.

Contents

Details

Sapporo 2030 was the first official bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics. [2]

Sapporo was initially considered to bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, but was withdrawn on 17 September 2018.

Due to the cost overrun from the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics and facing a very likely situation of withdrawing the bid, a revised budget was released which would lower the cost of the games to between 280 billion and 300 billion yen. [3]

A recent report which was released before the start of the Beijing Games showed that, due to climate change, by the end of the century, Sapporo might be the only city among the 21 cities to have hosted the Winter Olympics to be able to provide fair and safe conditions to host the Winter Olympics. [4]

In March 2022, Sapporo's government released a draft plan for the games. [5]

In December 2022, Sapporo officials said that organizers would "discontinue for some time" while investigating the scandal relating to Tokyo 2020, but the bid would not be canceled. [6]

On 10 April 2023 Japanese Olympic Committee President Yasuhiro Yamashita has revealed that talks were set to get underway over possibly delaying Sapporo's bid from 2030 to 2034. [7] On 6 October 2023, Sapporo decided to walk away from bidding for 2030 altogether. [8]

Impact of Tokyo 2020 Bribery scandal

A number of bribery and corruption allegations tied to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games have surfaced since mid-2022, which have been viewed as a potential setback for Japan in its bid to host the 2030 Games. [9] Seiko Hashimoto, an Olympic bronze medalist, politician and former head of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, said in December 2022 that the scandal seemed "very severe," adding that it was important to sort the issues out so that Sapporo can proceed with its 2030 Olympic bid efforts. [10] Later that month, Hokkaido Governor Naomichi Suzuki admitted that it was "difficult to keep fostering momentum" for the 2030 Olympic bid due to the corruption allegations. [11] Sapporo mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto announced on 20 December 2022 that his city would halt the aggressive promotion of its 2030 Olympic bid in order to "dispel the public's unease" about the scandals and reconsider their promotion tactics. [12]

Related Research Articles

The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the XI Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Sapporo 1972, were a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe and North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Summer Olympics</span> Multi-sport event in Tokyo, Japan

The 2020 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXII Olympiad and officially branded as Tokyo 2020, were an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July 2021. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 7 September 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sapporo Dome</span> Stadium in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan

Sapporo Dome is a stadium located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, and is primarily used for association football. It is the home field of the association football club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, and was also home to the baseball team Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters through the 2022 Nippon Professional Baseball season. It was a football venue for the 2020 Summer Olympics, was the venue for the opening ceremony of the 2017 Asian Winter Games, and was used for two matches of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The stadium also hosted matches during the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIFA World Cup hosts</span> Countries that hosted the FIFA World Cup

Eighteen countries have been FIFA World Cup hosts in the competition's twenty-two tournaments since the inaugural World Cup in 1930. The organization at first awarded hosting to countries at meetings of FIFA's congress. The choice of location was controversial in the earliest tournaments, given the three-week boat journey between South America and Europe, the two centers of strength in football at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sapporo</span> Designated city in Hokkaido, Japan

Sapporo is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city in Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city in Japan. It is the capital city of Hokkaido Prefecture and Ishikari Subprefecture. Sapporo lies in the southwest of Hokkaido, within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, which is a tributary stream of the Ishikari. It is considered the cultural, economic, and political center of Hokkaido.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Japan at the Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Japan first participated at the Olympic Games in 1912, and has competed at almost every Games since then. The nation was not invited to the 1948 Games after World War II, and was part of the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seiko Hashimoto</span> Japanese politician and sportswoman (born 1964)

Seiko Hashimoto is a Japanese politician, former speed skater and track cyclist. She has the most Olympic appearances of any Japanese athlete except Noriaki Kasai, representing her native country in four consecutive Winter Olympics from 1984 to 1994 and in three consecutive Summer Olympics from 1988 to 1996, making her a seven time Olympian. On top of her Olympic career, she is the mother of six children while working in politics and other leadership positions. She is currently a member of the House of Councillors from the Liberal Democratic Party, and served as the President of the Japan Skating Federation from 2006 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hokkaido Marathon</span>

The Hokkaido Marathon held in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan, is one of the prominent marathon races of the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Para Games</span> Multi-sport event

The Asian Para Games, also known as Para Asiad, is a multi-sport event regulated by the Asian Paralympic Committee that's held every four years after every Asian Games for athletes with physical disabilities. Both events had adopted the strategy used by the Olympic and Paralympic Games of having both games in the same city. However, the exclusion of Asian Para Games from Asian Games host city contract meant that both events ran independently of each other. The Games are recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and are described as the second largest multi-sport event after the Paralympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Asian Winter Games</span> Multi-sport event in Sapporo and Obihiro, Japan

The 2017 Asian Winter Games was the 8th edition of the Asian Winter Games. They were hosted in Sapporo and Obihiro in Hokkaido, Japan. These Games were originally scheduled for 2015, however, in the Olympic Council of Asia's general assembly in Singapore on 3 July 2009, the committee decided to move the Games to one year before the Winter Olympics moving forward. The games began on 19 February with the opening ceremony and ended with the closing ceremony on 26 February.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tokyo bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics</span> Bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics

Tokyo 2020 was a successful bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics by the city of Tokyo and the Japanese Olympic Committee. On September 7, 2013 at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Tokyo won their bid to host the games. Tokyo previously hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics. On August 3, 2016 it was reported that the IOC approved the addition of five sports to the program of the 2020 Olympics including the return of baseball and softball. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Summer Olympics ended up being rescheduled from 24 July 2020 to 23 July 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics</span> Olympics event

Athletics at the 2020 Summer Olympics were held during the last ten days of the Games. They were due to be held from 31 July – 9 August 2020, at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the games were postponed to 2021, with the track and field events set for 30 July – 8 August. The sport of athletics at these Games was split into three distinct sets of events: track and field events, remaining in Tokyo, and road running events and racewalking events, moved to Sapporo. A total of 48 events were held, one more than in 2016, with the addition of a mixed relay event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bids for the 2026 Winter Olympics</span>

A total of seven bids were initially submitted for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Four of the bids were subsequently withdrawn after entering the candidature stage, leaving Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy and Stockholm–Åre, Sweden as the only two remaining candidate bids. Milan–Cortina d'Ampezzo was elected as the host city at the 134th IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 June 2019.

A number of concerns and controversies arose leading up to the 2020 Summer Olympics, which took place in Tokyo, Japan. The games were postponed until July 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The IOC stated that their Japanese partners and the former prime minister Shinzo Abe "made it very clear" in 2020, "that Japan could not manage a postponement beyond next summer [2021] at the latest". Just weeks before the opening of the Tokyo Olympics, honorary patron Emperor Naruhito was said to be "extremely worried about the current status of coronavirus infections", and was "concerned that while there [were] voices of anxiety among the public, the holding may lead to the expansion of infections".

The 2034 FIFA World Cup will be the 25th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It is set to be hosted in Saudi Arabia, as it was the only nation to submit a bid in time for FIFA's deadline of 31 October 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bids for the 2030 Winter Olympics</span> Upcoming multi-sport event

The 2030 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXVI Olympic Winter Games, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place in February 2030. The host city will be elected at the 142nd IOC Session in Paris on 24 July 2024, two days before the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Cases of COVID-19 at the 2020 Summer Olympics and the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, are part of a cluster of SARS-CoV-2 infections within the COVID-19 pandemic in Tokyo that began in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Village in July 2021, prior to the Opening Ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics on 23 July 2021. The Olympics ended on 8 August 2021 before the Opening Ceremony of the 2020 Summer Paralympics started on 24 August 2021. The Paralympics ended on 5 September 2021 before the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China started a few months later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bids for the 2034 Winter Olympics</span> Upcoming multi-sport event

The 2034 Winter Olympics, officially known as XXVII Olympic Winter Games, is an upcoming international multi-sport event scheduled to take place from 10 to 26 February 2034. The host city will be elected at the 142nd IOC Session in Paris on 24 July 2024, two days before the 2024 Summer Olympics.

The Salt Lake City bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics is a proposed bid to bring the 2030 Winter Olympics to the city of Salt Lake City, United States. Salt Lake City previously hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics.

References

  1. "Tokyo Olympics could boost chances of Sapporo landing 2030 Winter Games". CBC Sports. 14 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  2. "Sapporo becomes first official 2030 Olympic bid". OlympicTalk — NBC Sports. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  3. "Sapporo expected to revise planned 2030 Winter Olympic bid". Inside the games. 13 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  4. "Climate change will limit choice for Winter Games hosts, says study". Reuters. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  5. "Government of Sapporo publishes draft plan as part of 2030 Olympics bid".
  6. "Sapporo suspends promotion of 2030 Winter Olympics bid to review, and survey public nationwide".
  7. "Sapporo to consider delaying bid for Winter Olympics to 2034". insidethegames.biz. 10 April 2023.
  8. Sankar, Vimal (6 October 2023). "Sapporo to ditch 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics bid". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  9. Kageyama, Yuri (27 September 2022). "Tokyo Olympics bribery arrests widens to third Japan sponsor". Associated Press. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  10. "Olympic scandals may cloud Sapporo 2030 bid: Tokyo Games official". Kyodo News. 2 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  11. "Olympics: Hokkaido Gov. says Tokyo Games scandals hurt Sapporo bid". Kyodo News. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  12. "Sapporo mayor to halt 2030 Olympic bid promotion, reconsider tactics". Kyodo News. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022.