(supplemented by the statement of the heads of the Sports Department of the Ministry of Education and Culture and the National Sports Center)
The deadline for naming the host of the 2030 Winter Games is the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, Lejnieks said. The Swedes are interested in holding competitions in luge, bobsleigh and skeleton in Sigulda, but they still need to agree on mutual support for the candidacy in the negotiations.
Sigulda still expects a place in the Stockholm Winter Olympic Games candidacy
“We have until then [Parīzes spēlēm] there is enough time to understand, firstly, whether we will run together, and secondly, what happens at the moment if these [rīkošanas] rights are granted or just as well not granted,” Lejnieks said. “There is still work to be done before your application is approved and submitted.”
The Swedish government’s decision to support the Olympic candidacy currently means that the cooperation of the organizers with the LOK has gained official outlines for the continuation of the work.
The Olympic committees of both countries were already involved in the negotiations, as well as the Ministry of Education and Science (IZM), which is actually the owner of the Sigulda track belonging to the Latvian state, explained Lejnieks.
“At the moment, the further negotiations about any outlines, what and how they will look, are just ahead. Also, any government decisions are still just ahead. At the moment, there is a continuation of the negotiations,” outlined the situation in the direction of the Olympic application, the general secretary of the LOK.
At the moment, guarantees are not required for Latvia, but the question is whether the Swedish side will be able to use the Sigulda track for the Olympic competitions, Lejnieks emphasized. In order to organize the Olympic bobsleigh competition in Sigulda, the reconstruction of the track is necessary, which could cost at least 58 million euros. Lejnieks, however, expressed that it is too early to talk about the costs, as the needs must first be understood, as well as the maximum and minimum costs.
Latvia is currently the only partner approached by the Swedish side for organizing the three sports of ice skating at the 2030 Games.
“And [kādā] moment we understand that his [zviedru] the offer is not acceptable to us, then they can look somewhere else, but at the moment the negotiations are only with us,” said Lejnieks.
On the other hand, Vladimirs Šteinberg, head of the Sports Department of the Ministry of Education and Science (IZM), told Latvian Radio on Tuesday that the only interest of the Swedes for now is the possibility of reserving the Sigulda track for the Olympic Games. Representatives of the Swedish Olympic Committee are expected to meet with the Stockholm Games Organizing Committee on November 22, but an official bid to host the Games is due in February 2024.
The Swedish side has let it be understood that Sigulda could do without a separate Olympic village and would do with a hotel offer, added Steinberg.
Daniēls Nātriņš, head of the Latvian National Sports Center, admitted to Latvian Radio that
it is currently not possible to accurately name the amount needed for the reconstruction of the Sigulda track.
“Exact numbers are extremely difficult to give at the moment. One such indicative figure we have received was the 58 million [eiro], which have already been announced publicly,” said Nātriņš. “We will be able to name the exact costs and estimates when there is clarity about the concept, how this track will be built, about the solutions, when there is clarity, and in general, whether this will be necessary for the organization of the Olympic Games, or will not be. If not, then we will have to look for other solutions to maintain and develop this infrastructure unit.”
France has actively applied to host the 2030 Winter Olympic Games, where it wants to host the Games in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, and it is expected that there will also be an application from Switzerland.
According to the information of the Swedish Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will announce in December with which potential organizers negotiations will continue in the next phase for hosting the 2030 and 2034 Winter Olympic Games. In the next stage of negotiations, the IOC and the organizers must also agree on the terms and guarantees of the contract for hosting the Games.
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