D-Day for Calgary 2026 Olympic bid as referendum looms

Calgary's bid to stage the 2026 Winter Olympics faces a make-or-break referendum on Tuesday, with a sceptical public heads to the polls for a vote likely to determine if the bid can proceed any further.

Thirty years after hosting the 1988 winter sports spectacular, when the likes of British ski-jumper Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards and Jamaica's bobsled team entered Olympic lore, Calgary is hoping to stage the event once more.

But bid officials are facing an uphill battle attempting to convince Calgary's 1.24 million residents that the city should foot a USD 295 million chunk of the bill for hosting the event.

A survey of 243 people conducted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation between October 24 and November 3 found 55 per cent against with only 35% in favour. Ten per cent were undecided.

"I am not fan of hosting the Olympics for the simple reason that it's a risky investment," said Jeanne Milne, of the "No Calgary Olympics" group campaigning against the game.

"We are on the hook for any cost overrun. There are all these claims about all the economic outlooks, but they never really come through. After the Olympics you don't see a bump in reputation, a bump in economics."
- 'A mug's game' -
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"Trying to recreate magical memories is a mug's game." If Calgary's public votes against the Olympics, it will be in line with a clear trend which has dogged potential
"What we are trying to prove is that we are not going to be Pyeongchang, Sochi or even Vancouver. We can do the Olympics at a much more affordable cost to the taxpayers."