Vienna Residents Reject 2028 Olympics Bid

Vienna’s plan to bid for the 2028 Summer Olympics has been overwhelmingly rejected by residents of the city.

A referendum to gauge support has found 72% of Vienna residents oppose an Olympic bid. More than 1.1 million people were eligible to vote. The deadline for postal votes is 18 March, though only marginal changes are expected in the final results. 

Austria has hosted the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics, as well as co-hosting Euro 2008 with Switzerland, but has never hosted the Summer Games.

Vienna Mayor Michael Haeupl said: “Apparently most people are not convinced that the city would benefit in the long term from investing in the Games”.

Karl Stoss, president of the Austrian Olympic Committee, added: “We accept the result of the referendum. 

“We would welcome any investments in sporting infrastructure by the city of Vienna so that we can offer top training conditions to our athletes and so that, from now on, Vienna can regularly stage big international sporting events, even if they are not on the scale of the Olympics.”