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Are solo Winter Games viable?

BarcelonaA few weeks ago, the Spanish Olympic Committee was facing key meetings with the government of Catalonia to save the proposal to bring the Olympic Games to the Pyrenees for the first time in 2030. The body chaired by Alejandro Blanco did not have them all, as he saw no consensus between ERC and Together, suffering in case they would turn candidacy into a weapon to win votes and punish each other. In fact, when the government announced its acceptance of the proposed allocation of seats, more than one in the COE stated that the main obstacle had been overcome. But soon after, the President of Aragon, Javier Lambán, took action and torpedoed everything, despite the fact that the three representatives of his government in the technical commission had defended this proposal. “He uses it to win votes and strengthen his position ahead of the elections,” admit representatives of the technical commission, who added that “what Lambán is asking for is not possible” not because Catalonia does not want to give in more, but because to be able to host more sports Aragon should do a lot of work. And right now, the International Olympic Committee wants to give the Games a proposal to take advantage of and modernize existing facilities.

Although three of the four actors support the proposal, Lambán knows that without him the project would not go ahead. He went so far as to say that if it does not receive more votes, the COE will have to decide between two proposals, one for Aragon and one for Catalonia, while the governments of Barcelona and Zaragoza say that they are ready to present a candidacy alone. “It would be a disaster. The message to be sold to the IOC is unity. If you have two opposing candidates, the IOC will not choose you,” they told the COE. In addition, going separately would mean having to do these works that the IOC does not want to do, in the case of Aragon, especially in hotel squares and pavilions, but also in Catalonia. The capacity of the two main pavilions in Aragon would not be able to accommodate even half of the ice tests due to lack of capacity. “To present a credible candidacy, it is necessary to show unity and have events in both places, to avoid having to spend more,” says a source in the technical commission. “To say they are ready to go it alone is to strengthen their position, but to bury the project,” they add.

One week ago, the Minister of the Presidency, Laura Vilagrà, warned that if Aragon drops out of the Games, Catalonia already has the studies done to go alone, and this Wednesday the Generalitat has made public all these reports after the request of various parties. Government sources say they do not represent the project agreed with the COE, but began in 2018 to detect strengths and weaknesses. The analysis shows that the Games could be played alone, but also that the presence of Aragon makes them more viable. The report warns that if cross-country skiing were to be held in Catalonia – now it would go to Aragon – the only option would be to build slopes in the Anyella plain, which would cost 18 million euros and would be difficult. to reuse. In addition, an Olympic village should be built, yes or no, in Puigcerdà. Catalonia also does not have a pavilion ready to host long-track speed skating – which would also stay in Aragon – and they propose to do so at the Fira de Barcelona, ​​which should be adapted. If the government organized the Games alone, they would cost 1,391 million euros and revenue 1,504 million. The executive spends more spending on its headquarters than what was spent in Vancouver in 2010 or what will be invested in Milan in 2026. And it has a more optimistic revenue forecast.

Environmental impact

The government predicts “neutral” games in polluting emissions, but there is no environmental impact report. There is a one-page document that says there is no “remarkable” snowfall, but admits that there will be more contrasts in the next decade. There is also a comparison of snow in recent years that guarantees that the temperature and equipment would be optimal to ensure the snow, especially the artificial. However, the government says that when the project is closed, a thorough environmental report will be made.

In this sense, IOC members have already visited both the Aragonese and Catalan Pyrenees. Jaca had previously applied to be the Olympic venue, without luck, and the current candidacy is the first proposed by Mayor Joan Hereu in 2010, to do so only in Barcelona and the Catalan Pyrenees, led by Gerard Figueras during the government by Quim Torra, when the COE demanded the inclusion of Aragon. Now, without agreement, the possibility of submitting a candidacy hangs by a thread, waiting to see if Lambán gives in, either with a new offer or with what had been agreed.

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