Reviving the Flame

9. Conclusion
In this work, the context of the candidacy for the Winter Olympics in 2026 reveals a huge debate,
specifically focusing on the budget and investments needed, as well as the fear of costs overrun and white
elephants. To see things from a different perspective, the authors shifts away from this economic and
tangible side to concentrate her study on intangible and social aspects. In this optic, she proposes to look
at a set of “communities’ legacies” that target themes linked to the society, in relation to the case study of
Sion 2026. During the interviews, the author unveiled three key topics:
o The “human size event”, for which a definition is given to better grasp this concept.
o The risks that Sion 2026 is facing in the actual context, that are broken down into three main
phases: before the candidacy; during the candidacy; during and after the Games’ organisation.
o The desired legacies and their leverages, that are classified in five key categories: tourism;
environment; national identity; human capital; and youth & sport.
Based on these findings, the author proposes key recommendations, firstly for the committee of Sion
2026, and secondly some suggestions target the IOC. These counsels focus of both immediate action that
can be taken in the ongoing context and future planning to design and implement in relation to the Games’
organisation and legacies. To summarize, the capital suggestions are the following:
o The OCOG’s communication strategy must be open and straightforward to foster trust in the
population and political parties to avoid misinformation or misunderstandings.
o The OCOG needs to bring forward leader representatives, or ambassadors like sportspeople for
the public to be inspired by the Games and generate enthusiasm.
o The OCOG should think about ex ante analysis and initiatives to strengthen their argument to
support their candidacy, like the SBTs for example.
o Ensure the IOC understands its role as elector of host cities that have to develop green games. In
this optic, countries with no or few infrastructures being chosen can engender suspicion of
corruption and collusions.
o The Legacy Organisation must be founded with an independent team but still closely collaborate
with the OCOG. Their agenda should be synchronised for key milestones in all domains.
o All teams should be built on a shared authority model to optimise all projects
o New workshops should be organised to: avoid placebo legacies; define the capital heritages to
focus on and enshrine these in the Games organisation; set SMART objectives for each legacy.
While, most respondents are enthusiastic about the idea of legacies, some respondent reminded the
author that all OCOGs must stay realistic and not believe the Games will become a solution to all issues in
a destination.
Conclusion 51