Barcelona drops bid to host 2026 Winter Olympics

Barcelona (CNA).- Barcelona’s City Hall government has taken itself out of the running to host the 2026 Winter Olympics Games. According to Barcelona’s deputy mayor, Jordi Collboni, the decision responded “to the current social and economic circumstances not only in Barcelona but in the whole country”. Moreover, he pointed out that not winning the contest could damage Barcelona’s reputation as an Olympic city, after the success of the 1992 Olympic Games. “If we submit an application we want it to be the winning option,” he said and admitted that in order for that to be so, the candidacy “must have full political and social support”. Indeed, rescinding the candidacy for the 2026 Winter Olympics was one of the main priorities of the governing alternative left and green alliance, ‘Barcelona en Comú’, when they took office in May 2015.

The Catalan Socialist Party (PSC), Spanish Unionist ‘Ciutadans’, Left wing pro-independence ERC and the Democratic Group backed the decision based on conclusions by the committee responsible for analysing the candidacy. The Catalan People’s Party (PPC) and radical left pro-independence CUP were not part of the committee. The conclusion left the door open for Barcelona to host future editions of the Winter Olympics.

Collboni admitted that this was “not good news” for the Pyrenees, since the area could have benefited from an important economic boost if the candidacy had gone forward. He also pointed out the COI’s new criteria which established that in the upcoming years the Olympics “would have to adapt to the cities and not the other way round”.