Swedish bid hopes Latvia link key to 2026 Olympics host vote

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The head of Sweden’s 2026 Winter Olympics bid believes having Latvia on the hosting ticket can sway Monday’s vote in their favor.

The Stockholm-Are plan to stage ice sliding sports across the Baltic Sea at a venue in Latvia avoids building a white elephant venue in Sweden — a key demand of IOC reforms to cut Olympic hosting costs.

Richard Brisius tells The Associated Press that he believes the sliding track at Sigulda “adds enormous value” to the bid competing against Milan-Cortina from Italy.

The Stockholm-Are chief executive says: “It will be very important for delivering the new transformative games that we want to do.”

Brisius challenges up to 85 voters from the International Olympic Committee membership: “Are the IOC members ready for that? We are offering that.”

He claims a Stockholm-Are victory would attract more candidates to future Olympic bidding contests.

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