Government postpones Winter Olympics consultation until autumn

BarcelonaThe Catalan government will postpone the consultation on the Winter Olympics scheduled for July 24 until early autumn, as advanced by Catalunya Ràdio's El Matí and confirmed by ARA. This is because no definitive project has yet been approved by the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE). Later this Friday Catalan Presidency minister Laura Vilagrà will appear before the press to announce the change. Government sources argue that the goal is to hold the vote when the project for the Olympics is complete and the latest disagreements with Aragon on the distribution of the venues mean that the COE may still make changes.

Thus, the Pyrenees will no longer vote in summer and will do so in autumn. The Government had called for two consultations: the first, which will be binding, will take place in the six counties that make up the Alt Pirineu i Aran region (Vall d'Aran, Alta Ribagorça, Pallars Jussà, Pallars Sobirà, Alt Urgell and Cerdanya). They will be asked: "Should the Government submit a bid for the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Games?". The second consultation, which will be held on the same day, will ask the citizens of Ripollès, Solsonès and Berguedà: "Should your county be involved in the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Games project?". This second consultation will not be binding when deciding whether or not to present the candidacy, but it will be binding for the establishment of training and technical centres in these counties.

The main platform for opposition to the games, Stop Jocs, links the government's decision to the organisation's "demonstration of strength" during the last demonstration on May 15 in Puigcerdá, which brought together 5,000 people according to the organisers and 2,500 according to the Mossos d'Esquadra.