Pyrenees mayors demand clarity from Catalan government on Winter Olympics

BarcelonaNot even a month ago, the mayor of Vall de Boí, Sònia Bruguera, met Presidency minister Laura Vilagrà. Vilagrà was visiting to talk about the Pyrenees' candidacy for the Winter Olympic Games, and Bruguera left the meeting with doubts on whether the Games would go to Boi Taüll. An ERC councillor from another town in the Pyrenees asked Vilagrà if she could be sent a document explaining the project. Vilagrà, she says, answered that it wasn't ready. These two anecdotes summarise the prevailing feeling in town councils across the Pyrenees towards the Games: the Catalan Government says they are an opportunity and most local councillors are favourable to them, but they ask to be given more information.

They have not lacked opportunities to solve their doubts. Vilagrà has visited the six counties of the Alt Pirineu and Aran; the vice-president, Jordi Puigneró, went last week to Sort and recently to the Alt Urgell, and Economy minister Jaume Giró went to Puigcerdà at the beginning of December. The Olympics were a hot topic. "Of course it was addressed," explains Francesc Vilaplana, mayor of La Seu d'Urgell. "But we lack information," he says. "The only commitment is that they will come again to explain the project," says Maria Pilar Cases, mayor of Tremp. "They only said that the ballot will decide everything," says the mayoress of Vall de Boí. "But we do not know what will we balloted on or where," adds Maria Vergés, leader of Aran regional administration. In response to this, sources from the Presidency respond that the trips have been more to listen to local communities than to explain the project. "When the participatory process begins –budgeted for 2022– we will explain everything," they insist. Several mayors, such as Puigcerdà's or La Seu d'Urgell's, understand that the Government still has time to decide the final details.

The positions

In spite of the fact that there are few mayors who, from the outset, are opposed to the Games, the lack of information means that many town and county councils have not yet taken a position. "In Cerdanya we will not promote anything before knowing the project", explains the president of the Regional Council, Isidre Chia. In fact, not even the Government itself is clearly positioned in Parliament. Now two weeks ago a PSC motion wanted to urge the Government to support the Olympic Games, but both Junts and ERC abstained, stating that they supported a ballot instead.

A recurrent question in the ministers' visits is whether the Games will be held. "The investiture agreement says so", answered, according to several sources, Catalan vice-president Jordi Puigneró. The pact, however, is not clear either: it speaks of "deciding the candidature" and "proposing a consultation". "I had two meetings with two members of the Government –one from Junts and one from ERC– and on one side I heard one thing and on the other side something different", explains Josefina Lladós, president of the Regional Council of Alt Urgell. Local councils, however, say they will evaluate the project and not follow party lines. Lladós is an example of this. Lladós, who represents Junts, is opposed to the Games because "[Catalan] independence is necessary" and she does not want to enter into such a long-term "adventure with Spain".

Gerard Sabarich, mayor of Rialp for the PDECat, gives a resounding yes. He has been mayor since 2007, and refutes the argument that there is a lack of information: he says that since 2010 he has attended countless meetings and has even gone to the IOC headquarters in Switzerland. A few days ago he tweeted a video of snowy Rialp with the following comment: "At this rate maybe in 2030 it will snow in August". Bernat Lavaquiol, spokesman for the STOP Olympic Games platform, replied accusing him of "Trumpism" and also noted the lack of "transparency". The platform, which has been joined by former president Quim Torra, regrets that the Government has not yet made an environmental impact report.

Aran has a clear position. Both the mayor of Vielha and the head of the regional administration, both belonging to PSC, are blunt. "The Pyrenees need a catalyst". They are so clear that they believe that a citizen ballot is not necessary. "To govern is to make decisions," says Vergés. This contradicts the majority opinion of local officials, who believe a ballot would be positive.

The reasons for and against

A large part of the mayors emphasise that the tourist interest of the Olympics is "neither the first priority, nor the second, nor the third of the Pyrenees", in the words of Vilaplana. What is central, however, is the improvements to roads, telecommunications, housing and medical services. There are also those who are reluctant to the approach because they see that holding the Games is the only engine of investment, and puts them in a situation of quasi "blackmail". This is illustrated by the mayor of Tremp: "To be told that if the Olympics are held there will be a transversal axis across the Pyrenees is no good for me". Her positions are close to the STOP Olympic Games platform. Opposition is based on three axes, according to Lavaquiol: it is "unfeasible" due to climate change, it lacks transparency and promotes a tourism model they do not support. "Hotel places per 1,000 inhabitants in the Pyrenees are seven times the average of Catalonia," he says. Before this, sources in the Presidency Department claim that the improvements are not conditioned to the Olympics, but that in any case they are a "catalyst".

However, another anecdote that shows the uncertainty that surrounds the project is that in mid-November Aran organised a meeting with the Spanish Olympic Committee and those present had to decide if they would adhere to a manifesto in favour of the Games. They discovered that the document was called Barcelona-Pyrenees-Zaragoza, although until then they did not know that Aragon was also part of the equation. This already puts off some mayors, like the mayor of Sort, Baldo Farré, who sees it as a price to be paid for state support, while others, like those in Aran, believe sharing a candidacy would be positive. The Generalitat affirms that, although it has not been specified, Catalonia will carry most of the weight. Another doubt to be resolved is who will be able to vote in the ballot. Most of the mayors want only the Pyrenees to vote, and comments like "I did not vote for Port Aventura" can be heard. Ballot aside, it will be the International Olympic Committee that will choose a venue for the 2030 Winter Games.