To vote? State money?: Why the 2038 Olympic Games in Switzerland are unlikely

It was an important point for 2030. As part of the rescheduling of the Games, the IOC encouraged Switzerland to apply not as a “host city” but as a “host country” for the first time in history. But now the IOC has rejected the decentralized concept with locations in nine cantons: everything was too far away from the cities, and the lack of Olympic villages was also criticized.

The IOC does not like the fact that even in individual sports such as ice hockey, the teams do not all stay in the same place in normal hotels. This point is a game changer – apparently the IOC is demanding a more regional application, which could be called “Lausanne-Vallis”, for example, and would then be more reminiscent of previous Swiss Olympic attempts than a new zeitgeist.

A lot of sensitivity is required here. How far should you accommodate the IOC without completely betraying the decentralized idea? The scope is limited because new construction is excluded. The bobsleigh track in the Engadin, the ski jump in Engelberg and the biathlon arena in Lenzerheide will remain open anyway due to a lack of alternatives. It seems clear that Ticino, which was added as part of the national concept, will be thrown out straight away.

Financing is also part of the homework. Switzerland wants to finance the budget of around 1.5 billion largely privately and saw this as an asset to avoid burdening taxpayers with enormous amounts of money. But doubts arise as to whether the IOC really wants to do that.

The enthusiasm for the 2030 Games in France and 2034 in Salt Lake City for the great support of Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Joe Biden does not bode well. Because the presidents guarantee full government support, including in the budget.

Sports Minister Viola Amherd fully supports our project and emphasized on Wednesday that the IOC had promised Switzerland 2038. But in the Federal Palace it can be heard that Amherd himself knows very well that this promise is not worth much.

When Switzerland hosts major football events such as the men’s European Championship in 2008 or, more recently, the women’s European Championship in 2025, this is done without referendums. Very different at the Olympic Games. Here it seems almost impossible to do without a vote, of course because of the much larger box compared to a European Women’s Championship.

Even the IOC sees it that way. Civil servant Karl Stoss openly says that there is nothing against a referendum in Switzerland, “then we know where we stand.” Because the IOC wants more support for the application from the population and politicians. One thing is clear: national, cantonal or municipal votes were unlikely for the 2030 candidacy.

Things will look different for 2038 as the IOC prefers to have a maximum of four hotspots rather than the decentralized concept for the Olympic spirit – in other words there will be significantly more to supposed playing centers such as Sion, Bern, Zurich, St. Moritz etc. than previously planned. This is likely to increase political resistance, which could lead to initiatives and referenda. An enormous challenge for the Olympic organizers to convince the population to vote ‘yes’ at the ballot box.