Czech Sports Minister Boris Stastny (Motorists) said yesterday that he could imagine the Czech Republic hosting the Olympic Games, and is not concerned that hosting them would require extensive investment, according to a report from aktualne.cz yesterday.
Stastny told the server that existing facilities could be used.
He said that he would prefer the Winter Olympics, and that the Czech Republic could host them together with Slovakia and possibly other Central European countries, such as Hungary, Poland, or Austria.
The nearest available dates to become Olympic hosts are in 2038 and 2040, Stastny said.
“I would prefer to consider the Winter Games, because they are more intimate and economical,” said the minister.
“I would like to discuss this topic with my Slovak counterpart, because Slovakia previously sought to host the Winter Olympics in the High Tatras. I also want to open a public and political debate on this issue. I don’t think we should be modest. We could do it,” Stastny said.
Prague, under Mayor Pavel Bem (ODS), applied to host the Olympic Games in 2016, but did not even make it to the shortlist. In the meantime, it was announced that the main efforts to bring the Olympic Games to the capital would be directed towards 2020. However, the idea was met with disapproval by many Prague residents, who did not believe in the project and considered the bid a waste of money. There was also political opposition.
Prague city councillors decided to suspend work on the bid in June 2009 to save money. The Prague Olympic Company was eventually removed from the court register in 2013.
