Vancouver has made the short list of candidate cities for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The three other cities that also made the International Olympic Committee (IOC) list are Bern, Switzerland; Pyeongchang, South Korea; and Salzburg, Austria. Eliminated from the race were Andorra La Vella, Andorra; Harbin, China; Jaca, Spain, and Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The 2010 winner will be selected by the full IOC assembly at its session in Prague in July 2003.

Vancouver faces perhaps the stiffest competition from Salzburg, the city of Mozart's birthplace. Salzburg boasts downhill skiing at Kitzbuehel as well as other world-class venues. Vancouver organizers have plenty of their own selling points, however. With the Pacific Ocean acting as a backdrop, and one of the world's best-known ski resorts just 90 minutes away, organizers of the Vancouver-Whistler bid believe they offer an unbeatable combination of beauty and practicality.

Geography does not favour Europe, which has the 2004 Summer Olympics (Athens) and 2006 Winter Games (Torino, Italy). Several European cities, including Rome, Paris, Moscow and Madrid, are lining up bids for the 2012 Summer Games and would not want the previous games in Europe. With the 2008 Summer Games in China, Asia stands little chance for 2010.

If successful, Vancouver would become the third Canadian city to host an Olympic Games. Montreal was the site of the 1976 Summer Olympics and Calgary staged the 1988 Winter Games. Just bidding for the Games is costing $34 million Cdn. The B.C. government says the Games could generate up to $10 billion Cdn in economic activity and 228,000 jobs.

[Source: Skipress]

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