Finalist City Overview
- Kuopio, Finland
Kuopio is a first time bidder. On the shores of Lake Kallavesi, it is the cultural centre of Eastern Finland and has a winter sports infrastructure in place. Puijo hill serves as a site for the yearly FIS Ski Jumping World Cup. Kuopio is a small city with a large University and many active young people - a model that may exemplify what the IOC is looking for in these Games. Kupio proposed hosting the Games between 10 to 19 February.
Evaluations found strong local government support, a compact single village, a well-designed culture and education program and a good level of experience in hosting international sports events as the bid’s principal strengths. The Panel expressed concern over Kuopio’s ability to deliver the Games at the proposed budget of US$14 million, explaining that it seems low. The Finns cited the strong culture of volunteerism in the nation as well as guaranteed coverages of shortfalls by various government levels, but the IOC was still uncertain if a quality Games could be delivered with that budget.
The Olympic Village offers 2,000 beds in existing student housing with additional accommodations nearby if required. A bed/bath ratio of 6:1, or possibly 4:1 is proposed. One negative factor is the Alpine skiing facilities at Tahko ski resort would not permit all skiing events to be held due to its maximum vertical drop of 200m. Also, Kuopio proposes a natural track for Luge competition and Kuopio’s competition schedule does not include Bobsleigh/sled. Both figure skating and short track would be held at Kuopio Hall, by building a temporary wall on the ice.
In considering the short preparation time of only three years, the final report said that Kuopio presents "some risks", some of which are associated with allocated budgets.
Read more about this topic: Bids For The 2012 Winter Youth Olympics
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