The Spanish candidacy for the 2030 Winter Olympics continues without taking the expected firm step, while the time to convince the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is shortening.
This Monday the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE) backed by the Central Government announced the fiasco of the eleventh joint meeting with the Communities of Catalonia and Aragon, but in the midst of disappointment the Olympic body stated it will defend a project meeting the demands of the IOC.
The determination of the COE has been understood by many as a new proposal which could rule out a possible joint pact in order to save a historic sports program.
The president of Aragon, Javier Lambán, did not hide his discomfort and announced this Tuesday he will request an interview with the president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, to demand that he fulfill his commitment to prepare a joint candidacy “on an equal footing” with Catalonia.
The president of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, has confirmed his region wants the 2030 Winter Olympics and “remains determined” to achieve that candidacy, so his government will be “very attentive” to the proposal the COE will formulate.
“The responsibility for that candidacy lies with the Spanish Olympic Committee and what we have is a collaborative attitude that we hope will also be the attitude of all the administrations that also want that winning candidacy”, said the spokeswoman for the Spanish Government, Isabel Rodríguez, this Tuesday.
On Monday, in a statement, the COE reported that the eleventh meeting had taken place that day between representatives of the Government of Spain, the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Aragon, with the Spanish Olympic Committee, in relation to the presentation to the IOC of a candidacy for the celebration of the Olympic Winter Games in the Pyrenees, in Aragon and in Catalonia.
“This meeting has ended without an agreement to be able to present a joint project,” the COE note sentenced.
“The Spanish Olympic Committee, through its President, Alejandro Blanco, and with the support of the Government of Spain, expresses its decision to continue its work in order to present a technically unbeatable project that is socially, economically and environmentally sustainable and that contributes to the regeneration of the host territory”, added the official statement.
At the same time, it will be a proposal that “responds to the requirements and regulations of the International Olympic Committee:, for which the COE” will continue evaluating the best options, in order to be able to materialize the presentation of said candidacy,” the statement finally underlined.
This new meeting without agreements was held to presumably meet a deadline imposed by the COE but not by the IOC, according to Olympic officials from Lausanne, Switzerland.
Last Friday, the IOC hinted the election of the winter venue for 2030 will be made at the 140th Session of the Olympic body in India in May 2023.
IOC Director General Christophe De Keeper said “strong value propositions” could put the IOC in a position to choose the 2030 venue in Mumbai. His observation was made during the final day of the unprecedented 139th Session held in a “hybrid” way last Friday in Lausanne.
To reach this culminating point, the IOC is exploring the possibility of a “specific dialogue” with one or more candidates in December in advance.
Salt Lake City, Sapporo, Vancouver and the Spanish proposal in the Pyrenees have been presented as the applicants.
The president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, said this new race includes “interested parties from three continents, who meet the geographical and climatic conditions to organize the 2030 Winter Olympics” and if the account does not fail, it has included one from Europe, one from Asia and two from North America.
The COE has been working for months on the creation of a candidacy focused on the Pyrenees, a mountain range that has never hosted the Winter Games and in which the communities of Catalonia and Aragon would participate, but this Monday it seems that the negotiations with both have ended , by not agreeing on the distribution of sports events.
Meanwhile, IOC experts have already visited Salt Lake City, Sapporo and Vancouver, which have all previously hosted the Olympics, earlier this year.