HASAs France prepares to host, this summer, the most important sporting event organized on its territory in recent decades, the very probable attribution of the 2030 Winter Olympics to the French Alps may leave you speechless. Due to the calendar: 2030 is a very close prospect to the Paris Games. But also because this mega-event will take place in the Alps, a territory symbolizing vulnerability to climate change and the necessary transformations of economic-tourist models.
There are, however, many reasons to rejoice, according to François de Canson, vice-president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, who, with Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, supported the French candidacy for the International Olympic Committee. (IOC). He believes that these Winter Games will be a fantastic opportunity to maintain, after Paris, popular enthusiasm around the Olympics, to make young people dream with board sports, to encourage vocations, to“attract visitors to the snow and the mountains”.
All this in a context where ski resorts, even those at high altitudes, are seeing their model weaken. Over the years, the seasons become shorter, the snow becomes more uncertain – a reference study reveals that a third of Alpine resorts will have serious snow problems in 2050, even with the addition of artificial snow. Already, the sale of packages is stagnating, or even declining, while resorts must make their latest investments in ski lifts and real estate profitable. Young French people dream less of skiing. Foreign customers have become essential. The Olympic Games would thus give an unexpected chance to this model to clear its horizons.
Political support
In addition, these Games would be an opportunity to validate infrastructure projects (trains, roads, valley elevators, etc.), while the Alpine resorts are poorly accessible by train and the roads are congested, particularly in the valley. Tarentaise. “We have a shooting window that will allow us to move much faster”estimates Jean-Luc Boch, president of the National Association of Mayors of Mountain Resorts.
It is therefore not surprising that many elected officials and businesses support this candidacy. This political support, up to the highest level of the State, was also a decisive element for the IOC. The organizers also provided a survey – a method whose limitations are well known – attesting to popular support for the event. In addition, these Games, presented as “sober and responsible”will use “at 95% » existing infrastructures, in particular those of the Albertville Games (1992).
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