It looks like people aren’t as happy with the idea of an Olympics in their backyard like they used to be. According to the IOC evaluation report on the 2010 Winter Games bids released by the International Olympic Committee this week, public support seems to be dropping across the globe.
In the report, the evaluation team lists bid-provided public opinion poll results and then compares them to IOC commissioned polls by the London based organization MORI. For seven of the eight applicants, the IOC poll produced less favourable results, and in some cases as much as 20 percent lower.
Ironically, the two cities that scored best with the local public were the ones with very poor IOC scores overall. Harbin generally ranked fifth in capabilities but were given 96% support in the IOC poll – the same number that the bid committee claimed. Sarajevo ranked last in scoring but recieved 93.2% support locally, a little less than the 95% the bid had suggested.
For the short-listed cities, the results were concerning. Of the four, Pyeongchang had the best IOC poll results at 78% even though the bid committee published 96.8%. Salzburg followed at 68%, below their claim of 83%, and Vancouver only rounded up 62% support although their poll earlier in the year showed 75% locally and 80% nationally. And in what could be a bid-killer for Berne – their IOC poll showed only 42% opposed to their own study that revealed 62%, an already low number. The fact that the number has dropped below 50% for is significant because Berne is about to enter a local referendum that will decide the fate of their bid. It is possible that Berne may be forced to drop out of the race.
Of the remaining bids – IOC polls showed Jaca with 74% and Andorra la Vella with 60% – even though they both claimed 80% in their bid questionnaires.
By comparison, Beijing’s successfull 2008 bid boasted 96% public support and the runner-up Toronto had 71%. Public opinion isn’t taken lightly by the IOC – strong support helps avoid any controversy and issues while the Games are being organized.
In the scoring category “Government support and public opinion”, Pyeongchang, Salzburg and Vancouver have very close scores. Vancouver and Salzburg representatives have told GamesBids.com that they will be launching major local marketing campaigns shortly, presumably to increase those public support numbers that will be critical when the IOC votes next summer.
