Referendum on Pyrenees' 2030 Winter Olympics bid could be held in July

Residents of the Pyrenees are set to vote in a referendum to decide whether the government should bid to host the 2030 Olympics in July rather than June.

Although the final date has not yet been announced, presidency minister Laura Vilagrà stated on Thursday that the postponement was due to "timing issues." 

The Catalan presidency minister had said that the goal was to celebrate the referendum by the end of the Spring, which most interpreted as meaning by the end of June. However, because of "parliamentary timings," the vote could be held "at the beginning" of July.  

The referendum will ask residents whether Catalonia should bid to host the Winter Olympic Games after critics pointed out what they argue would be the event’s negative impact on several counties. 

Before officially bidding to organize the event, the executive will ask residents in the Pyrenees counties, of Val d'Aran, Alta Ribagorça, Pallars Sobirà, Pallars Jussà, Alt Urgell, and Cerdanya, and will also meet with local authorities of Ripollès, Solsonès, and Berguedà’s counties. 

The idea of hosting a Winter Olympics has been discussed in Catalonia for a long time. In fact, the 2022 Games were first brought up as a goal all the way back in 2010, but no consensus was reached. 

The prospect was pushed further and further back, first to 2026, and now to 2030, and in the summer of 2020, the Catalan government, then led by former president Quim Torra, formally endorsed the Pyrenees-Barcelona candidacy to host the Winter Games. 

The administration has since changed its makeup, with the senior and junior coalition partners swapping roles, but even now the executive led by Pere Aragonès is still in favor of hosting the Games. 

To bid or not to bid?

Listen to our Filling the Sink podcast to learn more about the potential bid from the Catalan government to host the 2030 Winter Olympic Games. 

Scientists warn of consequences

More than 150 scientists from Catalan universities and research centers signed a manifesto on February 18 against the proposal to host the 2030 Winter Olympics in Barcelona and the Pyrenees. 

In the manifesto, they provided scientific data concluding that an eventual candidacy would be "unacceptable" in the current context of "systemic crisis: climate, energy, socio-health and economics.” 

The researchers said "there are no green options" to host an event like this and that studies on past Games show that they are "environmentally, economically and socially unsustainable."