Vancouver 2030 Olympic Bid Committee gets funding from its first sponsor

'Decision 2010' public celebration at GM Place on July 2, 2003, for the announcement of the host city of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. (Heston Kan)

Momentum is already accelerating for a potential Vancouver bid to host the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, just hours after John Furlong announced his intention to help ignite an Olympic bid.

Late Thursday afternoon, Western Canada rail tour company Rocky Mountaineer made public it will provide $100,000 towards the cost of a bid committee to help pursue a repeat Winter Games performance for Vancouver and Whistler.

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“Like many proud Vancouverites, I have immense pride and fond memories of the city coming to life and passionately embracing the 2010 Winter Games,” said Peter Armstrong, the founder of Rocky Mountaineer.

“The Games injected an energy into people that I have never seen before and served to strengthen Vancouver and Canada’s place on the world stage. I wholeheartedly support a bid for the 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.”

Additional funding from other supporters and stakeholders are expected to follow over the coming weeks and months.

Furlong made the announcement during his speech to the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, which coincides with the 10th anniversary of the 2010 Games. He is also the chair of the board of directors for Rocky Mountaineer.

He emphasized that the facilities for a repeat Winter Games already exist and would still be in good condition in 2030. More importantly, under Olympic Agenda 2020, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) newly implemented policies on organizing the Games now offer far more flexibility to reduce costs and encourage sustainable post-Games legacies.

“We have a stellar reputation, an enviable track record, the trust of our friends, an army of trained volunteers, seasoned mentors, and a deep talent pool,” said Furlong in a follow-up statement.

“I believe the Canadian Olympic Committee and IOC would welcome us to bid again. And this second time around as host of the Games, we could expand to include other communities beyond Vancouver, Whistler, Richmond and West Vancouver, and spread the energy and benefit much further afield.”

Over two decades ago, a non-profit organization called the Vancouver Whistler 2010 Bid Society was formed for the domestic and early international bid processes. It raised $1.2 million for the domestic bid stage of pursuing the rights from the Canadian Olympic Committee — vying against Calgary and Quebec City — to be Canada’s 2010 submission to the IOC.

By the time of the IOC’s host city decision in July 2003, the incorporated Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation had a budget of $34 million to fund the bid’s cost of creating bid plans and promoting the vision, locally and abroad.

For Daily Hive’s in-depth interview with John Furlong on Vancouver 2010 legacies and his plans for a Vancouver 2030 bid, click here.

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