Despite previously saying there was little need for a referendum Majchrowski said that the consent of locals was important but declared he is confident the city's bid for the 2022 Winter Games will be backed by the people of Kraków should a referendum be held in the coming months.

"Personally, I'm convinced that the organisation of the Winter Olympics would be an important step for the development of our city and region," said Majchrowski.

"Surveys carried out a few months ago showed that there is support for the idea [hosting the 2022 Winter Games].

"But in such an important matter, that's not enough, which is why I am calling on the City Council to hold a referendum."

Despite recent polls suggesting there is strong support for Kraków's bid with the city's bid team claiming that 87 per cent of Polish people back the idea and that under Polish law a referendum is not obliged to be held, it may be seen by many observers as an unnecessary risk by Majchrowski.

Mayor of Kraków, Jacek Majchrowski is confident a referendum will back the city's bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics ©Getty Images



In November last year, Munich, which was considered by many as the initial outstanding candidate, dropped out of the race for 2022 after local citizens voted against it in a referendum.

Swedish capital Stockholm abandoned its bid for the 2022 Winter Games in January following a decision by the ruling Moderate party not to back the campaign because of the potential cost of building new facilities.

However, a referendum can be called for by the local authorities in Kraków or at the request of citizens who can demonstrate they have the support of at least 10 per cent of voters.

There must be a minimum turnout of 30 per cent of voters for a referendum to be valid.

Although the bid is billed as Kraków 2022, alpine skiing events would take place in Zakopane and across the border in Jasna, Slovakia, both of which are located in the Tatra Mountains.

Kraków's bid for the 2022 Winter Games proposes to stage alpine skiing events in the Tatra Mountains, which includes neighbouring Slovakia ©AFP/Getty Images



Kraków Deputy Mayor, Magdalena Sroka, part of the bid team that presented the city's Applicant File to International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach in Lausanne earlier this month, was speaking at the same press conference as Majchrowski and revealed the estimated entire cost of preparing for and hosting the Games could reach 6 billion zloty (£1.2 billion/$1.9 billion/€1.4 billion).

She also forecast that 1.1 billion zloty (£220 million/$362 million/€262 million) would have to be invested in sport facilities.

But Majchrowski insisted that funding for the Games would be provided by the IOC, the Polish State Ttreasury and regional authorities on both sides of the Tatra Mountains stating that "this is not Kraków acting on its own" while he also acknowledged the city will be "counting on sponsors".

A period of consultation is now set to take place between Kraków officials and national governing bodies in Poland while no referendum would be held until it is confirmed by the IOC in early July whether Kraków has been chosen to go through to the next phase of the bidding process.

Four other cities are bidding to host the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, Almaty, Beijing, Lviv and Oslo. 

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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