B.C. 2030 Olympic, Paralympic bid group unveils venues, dates planned for Games

The 2030 Olympics and Paralympics are still eight years away, but Canada's vision for the Winter Games is already coming into place.

The group leading a potential bid to host the events include four host First Nations in the region along with the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees and the municipalities of Vancouver and Whistler. On Tuesday it announced new details, including dates and venues, about what the Indigenous-led Games in B.C. could look like.

The Olympics would be held from Feb. 8-24 and include 109 medal events across 15 disciplines. The Paralympics would run from March 8-17.

One strength of the B.C. bid is the ability to reuse nearly all of the facilities from Vancouver 2010, which bid officials say remain in good condition. Hockey, for example, will remain at Rogers Arena — the site of Sidney Crosby's golden goal and the home of the Vancouver Canucks.

One key change would see freestyle skiing and snowboarding move from Cypress, which turned to slush amid mild conditions in 2010, to Sun Peaks resort near Kamloops, about five hours northeast of Vancouver.

The Kamloops venue is on the traditional unceded territories of the Adams Lake, Little Shuswap Lake and Neskonlith Indian Bands. Tewanee Joseph, the COC's head of Indigenous inclusion and partnerships, said dialogue has already begun with those groups about staging the events on their land, and that "respecting protocols is paramount."

"Those nations will be respected by the four First Nations and asked if they would like to participate," Joseph said.

A pair of events introduced to the Olympic program since 2010 — big air snowboard and ski — would take place at Hastings Park Racecourse, complete with a backdrop of downtown Vancouver. Curling would be held at the nearby Agrodome, instead of the Hillcrest Centre used in 2010.

While the bidding process is fully funded by the COC, representatives from the bid group said specific cost allocations won't be made public until mid-July.

The aim is for 2030 to also be the first climate-positive Games. Where 2010 achieved sustainability, 2030 would hope to leave the environment behind in better shape than before.

The group now enters what it calls the "engagement phase," in which they seek support both from the public and from all levels of government for the plan. To that end, it launched an official website, gamesengagement.ca, on Tuesday along with a public survey. Its first community engagement session is planned for Wednesday at the Vancouver Board of Trade.

The official bid process with the International Olympic Committee isn't expected to begin until December. The IOC said last month that it may be "in a position to elect a host for the 2030 Games" at an IOC session next May in Mumbai.

Three other bids — Salt Lake City, U.S; Sapporo, Japan; and a joint effort from Spain, France and Andorra — have also expressed interest in playing host.

In addition to B.C., technical officers from the IOC have completed site visits at the first two locations.