Lviv poised to fight for Winter Olympics 2022

“We are becoming the creators of a new stage in our country’s history,” said Vice Prime Minister Oleksandr Vilkul at the General Assembly of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, when commenting upon Ukraine’s application to the International Olympic Committee for hosting 2022 Winter Olympics in Lviv. The corresponding documents were signed by Vilkul, head of the Organization committee for preparation and support of the application to the International Olympic Committee to host the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, Serhii Bubka, head of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, and mayor Andrii Sadovy.

The International Olympic Committee Executive Board will publish a list of all candidate cities in July 2014. A city that will host the 24th Winter Olympic Games will be chosen in July 2015, at the meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia).

The Day asked the Lviv mayor about what has been done and what still needs to be done.

Andrii SADOVY, Lviv mayor, special to The Day:

“Lviv already has an airport, which we have built for Euro-2012 and for the future. We also have the Arena Lviv stadium, where we can hold the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics. We are building Team Sports Palace for Eurobasket 2015. The complex will have a large rink, which can be used for hockey tournaments and figure skating competitions. Certainly, a huge amount of work is to be done in Tysovets in the Carpathians. And these are the self-sufficient projects. Now it is very important to plan and implement everything. I am happy that the best experts are involved in this work, these are several companies that make up a consortium, which were contractors for the development projects for the previous Winter Olympics. Obviously, Olympic facilities are to be placed properly, taking into consideration the present-day conditions and maximum multifunctionality. For example, we need to build a large media complex near the stadium, which will later serve as an exhibition center. If we talk about the Olympic Village, which is yet to be built (of course, only after the definitive decision on Lviv as the host city), this is going to be a residential neighborhood, apartments in which can later be sold to individual customers. So, if we approach all the issues wisely, the Olympic project in Lviv can be profitable for the country, and its image may be one of the locomotives that will pull Ukraine, and Lviv as well, to the new stages of development.