Calgary "took another step toward making a bid" for the 2026 Winter Olympics on Tuesday when Mary Moran was named CEO for the group tasked with exploring the potential of hosting the Games, according to Steve Keating of REUTERS. Moran, who becomes the first woman in Canada to "spearhead" an Olympic bid, will take a leave of absence from her current position as president and CEO of Calgary Economic Development "to implement the strategic direction of Calgary 2026." Calgary, which hosted the 1988 Winter Games; Stockholm; Erzurum, Turkey; Sapporo, Japan; and an Italian bid involving Cortina d'Ampezzo and Turin have "all expressed interest" in hosting the 2026 Games (REUTERS, 7/31).
MILAN WITHDRAWS: GAMES BIDS' Robert Livingstone reported the city of Milan reportedly dropped its bid to be the host city for the 2026 Games after the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) found in an evaluation study that a joint bid along with Turin and Cortina d'Ampezzo "would be the strategic way forward." Milan could still, however, "participate by hosting some events without being involved in the Games’ governance." CONI members voted to "unanimously approve" the three-city joint bid on Wednesday during a scheduled meeting in Rome, with the National Council "expected to rubber-stamp the decision" later in the day. CONI President Giovanni Malagò had said of the joint proposal, "There will not be a leading city: it is an absolute novelty in the history of the candidature process and we have obtained from the IOC this possibility" (GAMES BIDS, 8/1).
