The Canadian Squamish, Lil’wat, Musqueam and Tsleil-Wautuuh Indigenous tribes (who have premiered the Four Host Nations licensing program at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010) have again partnered for a big project: to develop a concept to host the 2030 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in British Columbia, where the four First Nations people have their ancestral territories.
The hosting concept involving the city of Vancouver and Whistler as partners has just been revealed to the public, representing proposed Winter Games that are climate-positive, values-led and community-focused. The plan almost exclusively reuses and revamps existing venues, ensuring that these pieces of Canadian sports infrastructure are maintained and viable for the future. The concept also proposes a new partnership with Sun Peaks ski resort near Kamloops on the traditional unceded territories of the Adams Lake, Little Shuswap Lake and Neskonlith Indian bands. The indigenous-led and privately funded Olympic Games model that allows communities to add their voice to the ongoing discussion and process is a worldwide premiere that aims to set a global model for partnership between First Nations, governments and the world of sport for major events. The indigenous-led effort will need to be approved by local First Nations and the city of Vancouver as a next step before the official bid, a step that is expected to happen within the next few weeks.
