CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — A majority of Calgary voters are saying "no thanks" to a potential bid for the 2026 Winter Olympics, and while the vote is nonbinding, the future of the bid appears bleak.
Residents voted Tuesday on whether they wanted to pursue an Olympic bid, and 56 percent of voters chose "no."
Unofficial results showed that out of 767,734 eligible voters, 304,774 cast ballots and 171,750 of those voted against the Olympic bid. The vote is expected to influence the city council, which has the final say on whether to move forward.
An end of the bid by Calgary, which hosted the Winter Olympics in 1988, would leave Stockholm and a combined bid from two Italian cities as the only remaining contenders for the 2026 games. The future of Stockholm's bid is also uncertain because the local government has balked at spending taxpayer money on the event.
The Canadian Olympic Committee said in a statement it was disappointed by the results.
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