Paris' lightweight Olympics approach should be music to the ears of Vancouver bidders

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The Paris Olympics are being praised by the International Olympic Committee for its lightweight approach to venue building.

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Few and far between are purpose-built facilities. Temporary arenas, such as the beach volleyball setup beneath the Eiffel Tower, are plentiful. And major facilities, such as the Stade de France, have been given a simple refresh.

Why construct a new aquatics facility when you can renovate a temporary pool in an existing rugby stadium? That’s been the Paris 2024 approach.

Paris built just two new venues — the athletes’ village, and the pool facility that was used for diving, artistic swimming and water polo preliminaries.

The International Olympic Committee wants future Games hosts to focus on repurposing existing facilities, future hosts director Jacqueline Barrett told a sports trade publication earlier this week.

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“We don’t want construction. We don’t ask for construction for the Games,” she told SportsPro.

“If a city or region or a country is investing in its future, fine, we can take advantage of that. But we want the Games to adapt to the city and the region. If you don’t have existing venues within the city or the region that you’re looking at hosting the Games, then go elsewhere for some events.”

If this lightweight approach feels familiar to Vancouver sports fans, it should. It’s the approach that was taken in Vancouver in 2010, after all.

And that approach should be music to the ears of organizers — and political leaders — of potential future Vancouver bids. Vancouver stood a near shoe-in chance to secure the 2030 Winter Olympics, but in 2022 the provincial government declined to put money forward to support the bid, citing the economic climate.

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The latest talk from the IOC should hearten local decision-makers, says Chris Gear, a former Vancouver Organizing Committee executive who now runs sports consultancy Blackfin Sports Group.

“The Vancouver 2030 bid was exactly the kind of sustainable and inclusive plan that I believe the IOC was and is very keen to welcome and support,” he said.

“With the proposed use of mostly existing venues and infrastructure, plus important goals such as Indigenous reconciliation, gender equity and construction of new housing, Vancouver would likely have succeeded as the 2030 selection had the province endorsed the plan. If provincial concerns can be alleviated, Vancouver remains a very viable contender for a future games, like in 2038.”

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The IOC confirmed last month that the 2030 games will be held in the French Alps and the French city of Nice. The bid’s plan calls for the construction of a new 10,000-seat arena for figure skating and short-track speedskating. The rest of the events will take place at pre-existing venues. Long-track speedskating will take place in Turin, Italy.

The 2034 games were also confirmed last month for Salt Lake City and several nearby locations in Utah.

Before the 2022 decision by the province, Vancouver had been mooted as a possible host for 2034 as well.

The 2028 Summer Olympics will be in Los Angeles and the 2032 games will be Down Under in Brisbane, Australia. The 2036 Olympics are expected to be awarded to an Asian city.

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pjohnston@postmedia.com

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