As the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics kick off this week in Italy, Mayor Jeromy Farkas told reporters Tuesday that he’s not ruling out another Calgary bid to host the Olympics
Despite a majority of Calgarians voting in 2018 against Calgary hosting the Olympic Winter Games, Mayor Jeromy Farkas said, “it’s not out of the question.”
Farkas, who opposed hosting the games in Calgary eight years ago, said this week that part of the reason the initial bid for the games failed was that “Calgarians didn’t see that return on investment.”
With some pointing out that had Calgary had a successful bid for the games happening this year, the cost of hosting would have resulted in billions of dollars in deficits.
The mayor said he did not support the bid for the games back in 2018 due to financial concerns.
Farkas added that given the city’s current infrastructure situation following the water main break in late 2025, “I think we’re breathing a sigh of relief that we’re not hosting the Olympics.”
The mayor added that a future bid may be more plausible once the potential revenue from the games is considered.
“We think about Alberta’s and Calgary’s Olympic legacy, the fact that we need to renew our Olympic Oval, and other training facilities. There’s a strong business case for reinvesting and doubling down on our Olympic legacy,” Farkas said.