Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic win could be good news for Toronto after all.
My first thought, having watched and covered the Olympics and Olympic bidding since back in 1988, was that supporters of a Toronto 2024 bid would’ve preferred to get Europe out of the way and were pulling for Madrid or Istanbul, which is in Europe but on the cusp of Asia.
But the more I think about it, and that’s a dangerous game when you talk about the International Olympic Committee, the more I think this could play out nicely for North America.
The 2022 Winter Olympics appear destined for Europe. Official bids won’t be made for a few months, but so far we’re seeing activity mostly from Europe: Krakow, Munich, Oslo, possibly Stockholm and even Barcelona, which hosted the Summer Games in 1992 but figures it can do winter sports in the city and in the nearby (two hours or so) Pyrenees. I don’t think it’ll happen, but it seems to me that Europe is a shoo-in for 2022, with the only Asian candidate so far being Almaty in Kazakhstan.
Asia has the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, Korea and now the 2020 Summer Games in Tokyo. I think Europe is a slam dunk for 2022.
Which could mean the Summer Olympics are heading back to North America for the first time since way back in 1996 in Atlanta. Which is far too long for the biggest show on earth to be away from these shores.
Of course, the U.S. could always snatch the prize from Toronto again, like they did in 1996. The IOC and the U.S. recently ended their long-time spat over TV revenue sharing, so it would appear Uncle Sam is back sleeping on the IOC bed and no longer napping on the sofa at night.
The USOC is mulling over potential bids from the likes of San Diego, Los Angeles (what, not again!), Philadelphia, Dallas and Massachusetts/Boston. There’s also talk of a bid from Rome and perhaps other European cities, and from South Africa yet again.
So a lot could happen between now and two years from now, when 2024 bids will have to be taking shape.
I suspect the U.S. will be a formidable challenger for the 2024 Games. But I also think the Tokyo vote may actually have helped a North American bid, so that’s probably good news if you’re a Toronto backer.
Me? I’m no longer sure. Back when the city bid for the 1996 Games, I thought an Olympic win was just the ticket for pushing governments to fix up the city. Now, the downtown has filled in and the waterfront is coming along and I don’t think the need is quite as dire for the kind of improvements such a big event forces on a city.
Then again, the Pan Am Games have helped push the bureaucracy along with things like the new Union Station and the rail link to Pearson, so perhaps an Olympics would actually force the feds, the province and the city and Metrolinx to get together on a firm subway plan.
I personally don’t know if the risks are worth it. The security budget these days scares the trousers off of me; often in the billions of dollars with nothing to show for it at the end of the day.
Still, it’s an intriguing possibility if we’re going to make some serious headway on summer sports infrastructure in this city. The Pan Am’s in 2015 are a good thing, but even with those games there will still be a need for newer and better running tracks and pools and arenas for summer sports.
There was talk of a 2022 Quebec City winter bid but the Canadian Olympic Committee a couple months ago suggested they’re more interested in a Summer Games bid for Toronto in 2024.
If there’s any major stumbling block I can see right now, it’s the province. Mayor Rob Ford and city council seem interested, as Ford is always up for a good sporting event. The feds I’m sure could manage some cash. But I don’t know that the Ontario government right now is in the mood either emotionally or in the right frame of mind financially to jump into the five-ring circus.
We may be a tad too soon after Vancouver’s 2010 Games for another Canadian bid, I don’t know. Likely nobody needs to worry about it just yet. But over the next six months we should start to see a bit more activity from the lobbyists and from the Canadian Olympic Committee.
This ride could get interesting…
