Prague’s mayor Pavel Bem has organized a team to assess whether Prague could win a bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
The mayor told the Prague Post, “all of the infrastructure projects we would have to do to prepare for the Olympics are things we need to do anyway, so this would be a win-win for Prague”.
It’s estimated preparations for an Olympic bid, including a proposal to connect the metro system to sports centres and to an enlarged airport, would be $9.1 billion.
But the proposal drew mixed reactions from politicians and sports enthusiasts, reports the Prague Post.
President Vaciav Klaus was skeptical and told the newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes, “as a person who has always had sports in his life, I am not against the idea. But I will definitely have a small spirit about it”.
Several large sporting events in Prague have been marred by controversy including the World Ice Hockey Championship which was to be held this year but was moved to 2004 because the stadium was not ready.
Former Prague Mayor Jan Kasi was concerned that the Olympics would bring in too many people, create pollution and spawn security problems. He said, “I was the first advocate of the Olympics in Prague and I still think it would help bring improved transport and hotel facilities. But on the public relations front you have to sell the idea to Czechs or it will be a disaster”.
Kasi said he was not confident that the city or national government would use the appropriate international experts to conduct a feasibility study for the Games. “I am afraid they will just rely on their friends”, he said.
