Olympic Games 2030: A historic Memorandum of Understanding in Vancouver
by Kevin BernardiPublished on 12 December 2021
This Friday, the prospect of a new Olympic and Paralympic bid in Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada) took a new turn, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the representatives of the Indigenous peoples of the four First Nations and the Locally elected.
Aerial view of Vancouver and its surroundings (Credits - VANOC / IOC)
Lhe health crisis linked to the Covid-19 epidemic had until now seriously hampered the establishment of a possible candidacy of Vancouver for the organization of the Winter Games of 2030.
In recent months, and despite discussions within the Municipal Council of the main city of British Columbia, in Western Canada, the status quo prevailed , even if the association with the four First Nations had was mentioned as a prerequisite for setting up a project around the Host City of the 2010 Olympics.
However, things accelerated with this week, the crossing of a decisive milestone for the rest of the Olympic and Paralympic adventure.
This Friday, December 10, the Indigenous representatives of the four First Nations - Lilwat, Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh and Squamish - signed a Memorandum of Understanding with elected officials from Vancouver and Whistler to establish an Exploratory Committee for a candidacy. .
The said Committee will be directly steered by the Indigenous representatives, a sign of the parties' desire to achieve the best possible success in setting up a project designed around the sustainability and optimal reuse of the 2010 Olympic venues with increased participation of the First Nations in preparations.
As the Mayor of Vancouver, and supporter of a new candidacy, Kennedy Stewart, pointed out in this regard:
This historic partnership is the first step in exploring something unprecedented, creating the first-ever Indigenous-led Olympic and Paralympic bid.
As a City of Reconciliation, Vancouver is honored to be invited with Whistler to support the Four Host Nations in this process and to demonstrate what true reconciliation with Indigenous peoples can look like .
In the same state of mind, Dean Wilson, Chief of the Lilwat Nation, considered that the process initiated already represented an evolution compared to the candidacy and the organization of the Winter Games in 2010 for which representatives of indigenous peoples had been invited.
As he said:
The participation of Nations in the 2010 Games as a bid partner had been revolutionary.
With this announcement and our desire for this to be the first Indigenous-led bid for an Olympic Games, we continue to lead the way in Indigenous participation in major events .
Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the representatives of the Indigenous peoples of the four First Nations, and the local elected officials of Vancouver and Whistler, around the bid for the 2030 Winter Games, Friday December 10, 2021 (Credits - City of Vancouver )
At present, discussions will continue, with the integration of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) around substantive work.
The conclusions of the feasibility study, which will have to consider the advantages and weaknesses of a project for 2030, could then be released by July 2022 according to the Mayor of Vancouver.
It will also be necessary to bring together in the same spirit of cohesion, the provincial authorities of British Columbia and the federal authorities of Canada. The sustainability of such a project can indeed only be ensured by fruitful multi-party negotiations, unlike the Calgary 2026 candidacy which revealed some pitfalls in this area before being rejected by public opinion through a citizen consultation .
Popular support will also be another challenge for supporters of a Canadian candidacy when doubts have arisen. In a recent survey , only 43% of the inhabitants of the Western Province of the country declared themselves in favor of such an enterprise, even though they were 60% to share this opinion in January 2020.
Beyond that, Vancouver will also have to manage to catch up with cities like Salt Lake City (Utah, United States) or Sapporo (Japan) , which are already at an advanced stage of exchanges with the International Olympic Committee (IOC). , one being officially in the race for the Games since 2018, the other being eager to take up the torch of the Games in Japanese territory after the organization of the summer edition of Tokyo 2020 .
https://sportetsociete.org/2021/12/12/jo-2030-un-protocole-dentente-historique-a-vancouver/