Olympic officials in Vancouver ahead of potential 2030 Winter bid

Members of the International Olympic Committee are arriving in Vancouver Monday to see whether B.C. is ready to host another Winter Games — this time in 2030.

Vancouver has not been named an official candidate yet. However, the city appears to be among four potential choices the IOC is looking at. Three of the four — including Vancouver in 2010 — have hosted previous Winter Games: Sapporo in 1972 and Salt Lake in 2002. There is also interest from Barcelona, which held the 1992 Summer Games and could propose a bid with regions in the Pyrenees.

Earlier this year, an Indigenous-led partnership announced it was exploring a potential bid for the 2030 Olympics and Paralympics. The partnership is between four First Nations, the City of Vancouver, the Resort Municipality of Whistler, The Canadian Olympic Committee, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

A decision on whether the Musqueam (xʷməθkʷəy̓əm), Squamish (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), Lilwat (Líl̓wat), and Tsleil-Waututh (səlilwətaɬ) Nations will submit a formal bid is expected in the fall.

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Chief Wayne Sparrow of the Musqueam First Nation says leading this historic bid is a chance for the Nations to invite the world in and learn more about who they are.

“There’s a lot of positives that are coming out and our past leadership, that was one of the big fights that they had when all of our rights were stripped away from them. Just having the opportunity to tell our story,” he explained.

“We’ve been here for thousands of years and being able to invite the world on our behalf is something that’s very exciting from our side.”

IOC officials will only be in Vancouver for a few days. A feasibility study is likely to be completed in June.

Sparrow says it’s still early days but the excitement is there.

“We were quite excited at the opportunity, the first Indigenous-led games, and it’s going to be the first of its kind. So there are still lots of questions. We’re going back to our community to consult them and the other Nations are doing the same thing,” he told CityNews.

He notes while consultation with his community has not yet been done, people he’s heard from so far are excited about the potential opportunity.

The COC has previously said it is fully funding the key technical work and local engagement required to complete the feasibility assessment.

“It’d be really exciting if this could happen, you know, with reconciliation and first Indigenous-led games,” Sparrow said.

While a feasibility assessment is still in the works, Sparrow notes Vancouver and the surrounding area already have the infrastructure needed to host such an event, adding the only issue that’s been raised at the moment is the potential cost associated with hosting.

The 2030 Winter Olympics is not the only major sporting event Vancouver and B.C. are eying to host in the coming years. In mid-April, Vancouver officially entered the mix to potentially become a host city for the FIFA World Cup in 2026, with the selection process ongoing.

-With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press