Quebec City mayor downplays U.S. rejection to help host 2026 Winter Olympics

The United States Olympic Committee's decision to reject the idea of taking part in Quebec City's potential bid to host the 2026 Winter Games might only be temporary, Mayor Régis Labeaume said Tuesday.

"It's not a surprise" the U.S. committee said No, considering it wants to host the 2024 Summer Games in Los Angeles, Labeaume told reporters.

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The mayor had previously said he was in talks with Lake Placid, N.Y., Vancouver and Calgary about possibly sharing some events in order to reduce costs associated with hosting the Games.

While neither Vancouver nor Calgary has shown any public interest in hosting events in 2026, Lake Placid Mayor Craig Randall asked Labeaume in March to "please keep Lake Placid included in his investigation for possible venue use in an Olympic bid."

A spokesman for the U.S. committee confirmed via email on Tuesday, however, that no U.S. city will be in the running for the 2026 Games.

"The United States Olympic Committee is 100 per cent focused on our bid to bring the Games to L.A. in 2024," read the statement from Patrick Sandusky. "We have no intention of bidding for 2026."

'I'm sure the mayor of Lake Placid will call me'

Labeaume said the U.S. decision might only be a 'No' for now.

"(Lake Placid) is excluded today but it could just be temporary because the choice for 2024 will be made in 2017," he said. "If in 2017 L.A. doesn't get the Games, I'm sure the mayor of Lake Placid will call me."

But Labeaume also said "in my soul I believe the federal government and (Canadian) Olympic Committee would prefer a Canadian city."

He added he doesn't know how to position a Quebec City-Lake Placid bid to receive funding from Canadian taxpayers.

"I think in the short term it sounds illusory to start taking steps for (Canada) to invest in Lake Placid," he said.

While Labeaume says he is interested in hosting the Olympics, no official decision has been made on launching an official bid.

Quebec City failed in its attempt to land the 2002 Winter Games.

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Labeaume was invited to Lausanne to meet with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach on April 11 to explore the possibility of a bid for the 2026 event.

The mayor also mentioned Whistler, B.C., as a possible Olympic partner, but representatives from that city weren't able to be reached for comment Tuesday.

A spokesman for Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi said the city had no comment on potential Olympic participation, while an official from the Vancouver mayor's office said they had no knowledge of any formal or informal request from Quebec City with regard to 2026.

The Winter Olympics were held in Lake Placid in 1932 and 1980, Calgary in 1988 and Vancouver in 2010. The 2018 edition will be in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.