MCI provides the expertise for a feasibility study on the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Tyrol

Innsbruck and Tyrol as possible pioneer for modern and sustainable Olympic Games

The results of the feasibility study on the 2026 Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Tyrol commissioned by the Federal State of Tyrol, the City of Innsbruck, and the Austrian Olympic Committee were recently presented to the public with great fanfare.

The consortium consisting of the two Frankfurt partners PROPROJEKT and AS+P Albert Speer + Partner, as well as the Innsbruck partners SOLID Event Management + Consulting and MCI Management Center Innsbruck investigated in detail whether and under what conditions Innsbruck could host the Winter Olympic Games in 2026.

The study included a detailed investigation of the strategic aims and principles, of potential competition sites as well as possible locations for the accommodation of athletes, coaches, functionaries, media representatives and visitors. Furthermore, it contained a systematic evaluation and optimization of sporting, logistic, and economic implications as well as a recommendation on the preferred strategy.

With its existing infrastructure, Tyrol offers an excellent basis for holding the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. A large number of the competition sites are already available or can be provided on a temporary basis with relatively little effort. Permanent new buildings are not required, which might be a unique feature in the history of the Winter Olympic Games.

The distribution of the competition sites and the Olympic Village across Tyrol represents another exception. Approximately 70 percent of the competitions would take place outside of Innsbruck. Locations with an existing expertise in the hosting of major sporting events include St. Anton (alpine skiing), Kühtai (snowboard and freestyle skiing), Seefeld (cross-country skiing, ski jumping), and Hochfilzen (biathlon). Also, the neighboring Inzell (speed skating) in Bavaria as well as several preparation, training, and alternative locations are considered as part of the decentralized concept.

The results of the feasibility study further show that the staging of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games according to the concept presented can be implemented even without public funds. The expected costs of 1,175 billion euro are covered by the expected revenue. Innsbruck – and Tyrol as a whole – could position themselves in agreement with the Olympic Agenda 2020 as a pioneer of modern, sustainable and defining Olympic Games, thus bringing the global mega-event back to its sporting and regional origins, the Alpine region.

“The study has provided a well-founded basis to make a decision”, as State Governor of Tyrol, Günther Platter, emphasizes, “both for us, who wish to pursue the application further, as well as the population, which can now make a decision based on comprehensive information.” According to Governor Platter, the results of the analysis clearly prove Innsbruck and Tyrol to be ideally suited. “No new infrastructure would have to be provided, and the competitions could be hosted on rescaled requirements.”

“So many people in Innsbruck and Tyrol are ardent sports enthusiasts. The desire to host the Olympic Games therefore originated primarily in the sports community”, as is asserted by Innsbruck Mayor Christine Oppitz-Plörer. “The Youth Olympic Games hosted in Innsbruck in 2012 proved that things can be done differently; they have introduced a change in trend, i.e. new and sustainable mega-events with lasting ecological, economic and social effects. This fact was reflected also in the positive financial outcome of the games.”

President of the Austrian Olympic Committee, Karl Stoss, adds: “During the application process for 2026 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will provide candidates with increased support. This means that the process will become substantially easier and less expensive. With Innsbruck, Tyrol we have a chance to prove that competitions can be organized in a modern and still appealing format, using facilities that already exist in locations that have a winter sports tradition, with new transportation concepts and numerous Olympic Villages, while at the same time avoiding gigantism and white elephants.”

The results of the feasibility study will be presented in detail to the population in the weeks and months to come. In the context of a Tyrol-wide referendum on October 15, 2017 the Tyrolean population is invited to vote on the possible application.

Pressekontakt & Rückfragen:
Mag.(FH) Ulrike Fuchs
+43 512 2070-1527
ulrike.fuchs@mci.edu