Mayor-elect Ken Sim and ABC to support Vancouver 2030 Olympic bid

Mayor-elect Ken Sim and ABC to support potential First Nations-led Vancouver 2030 Olympic bid

Olympic rings installation in Coal Harbour during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. (Shutterstock)

Sometime in the weeks after the November 7 inauguration ceremony of the new Vancouver City Council, one of the most significant decisions the new body of elected officials will be asked to make is whether to support the First Nations-led bid to host the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Staff with the City of Vancouver will be returning to City Council with their own recommendations on whether to support the bid, but it will be up to the new Mayor and makeup of City Council to have the final say when the matter arrives at its key juncture, likely before the end of 2022.

In July 2022, the outgoing makeup of City Council voted to direct City staff to engage in further work to advance the bid process with the Four Host First Nations, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), and the Resort Municipality of Whistler. They also directed City staff to collaborate in advancing negotiations on the proposed multi-party agreement involving all of the entities.

“We support the 2030 bid, absolutely,” Mayor-elect Ken Sim told Daily Hive Urbanized in an exclusive interview on Sunday, his first and only interview over the weekend after the election outcome.

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But he adds that there is one major condition: “If there is an unfunded contingent liability, that could be significant. Then no, we’d have to rethink it. But as it’s presented right now, that’s not the case, so it makes the Olympic bid a ‘no brainer’ status,” said Sim.

“We’ve done it in the past, we have a lot of infrastructure, it’s great for local businesses, creates excitement, and it creates a lot of jobs. We can get federal funding to build housing faster. It really is a winner on multiple fronts.”

He adds that many experienced people involved in 2010 are still here and “ready to chip in” with their brainpower of making it possible.

Earlier in the year, City staff told the outgoing City Council that they needed more information from the First Nations and COC, and suggested negotiations were needed to have the provincial government act as the financial guarantor like the arrangement made for 2010, not the City. The provincial government previously suggested its decision on whether to support the bid would be made late this fall, but this also comes at a time of a change of leadership, with David Eby expected to replace John Horgan as Premier.

At the time of City Council’s previous decision, City staff were also concerned about the timeline to negotiate a multi-party agreement, but the COC said such an agreement is only a local precedent from 2010, not a requirement of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and that there is more time to achieve it than City staff had contemplated — through early 2023, not December 2022.

The COC stated this based on their understanding that the IOC will begin the “targeted dialogue” phase as early as December 2021, which is the international bidding phase when they select one prospective bidder or a shortlist to develop detailed bid proposals. Over the years since 2010, major reforms have been made by the IOC to their bidding process and host city organizing requirements to make the Games less costly for hosts and more sustainable.

It is unclear whether the IOC will move the start date of the “targeted dialogue” phase to early 2023, after their decision this past summer to move the upcoming IOC Session from May to September or October 2023. The 2030 host city will be decided at the IOC Session.

During City Council’s July 2022 meeting, First Nations leaders expressed frustration over City staff’s concerns and suggestions to City Council to oppose the bid.

“I’m a little bit upset by some of the remarks that were made. We asked the City to get into the canoe with us a few months back,” said Musqueam chief Wayne Sparrow during hte meeting, and suggested that it was an affront to the spirit of reconciliation.

In order for the bid to proceed, the councils of all First Nations and municipalities involved must give their thumbs up.

Ultimately, the decision for the City of Vancouver will come down to the new ABC Vancouver super majority in control of Vancouver City Council, with its elected members filling eight seats — including the mayoral seat — in the 11-seat body. ABC incumbent city councillors Rebecca Bligh, Lisa Dominato, and Sarah Kirby-Yung also previously indicated their support for the bid, with conditions.

“These are things that we need leadership on, and we need people, the province, and the federal government to know that Vancouver would be very supportive of a bid like this because all of the benefits we get from it,” reiterated Sim.

“As the Mayor of Vancouver, I do have a fiduciary responsibility that we do not put crazy bets that put the City at risk. If we can de-risk it, then we’ll do it. We’d be the first group to say, let’s go.”

This past summer, the First Nations and COC revealed their venue and facilities concept, which includes reusing BC Place Stadium, Rogers Arena, UBC Thunderbird Arena, and Pacific Coliseum, while also expanding and improving the use of Hastings Park for curling, Big Air skiing/snowboarding, nightly medal ceremonies, and cultural activities and activations. The Vancouver Olympic Village for accommodating athletes and officials would be located at either the First Nations housing developments of Jericho Lands or the Heather Lands.

The potential 2030 bid is amongst the items being strategically contemplated by ABC Vancouver’s transition team into governance over the next three weeks before the inauguration of their elected members.

A Mustel Group survey this past summer shows 2030 bid support levels across Metro Vancouver are at 61% for residents, 71% for businesses, and 72% for municipal politicians.

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