Sion Olympic costs put at more than CHF2 billion

Some 1,400 apartments for athletes will be built in Sion Keystone

Hosting the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in the Swiss city of Sion will cost CHF2.4 billion ($2.43 billion) not CHF1.98 billion as previously announced, according to Swiss public radio, RTS. 

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The additional amount can be broken down into CHF25 million for the candidacy, CHF100 million for infrastructure and CHF300 million for public security, revealed the Infrarouge programme on Wednesday. RTS said the new total had been confirmed by the financial controller of Sion 2026. 

Bernard Rüeger, vice-president of Sion 2026External link, admitted there had so far been a lack of communication regarding the budget for the Games. “From now on we need to be more transparent,” he said. 

What’s more, the construction of the Olympic Village is not included in the budget. Some 1,400 apartments will be built on city land, financed privately. Rüeger said Sion 2026 would settle for renting the infrastructure for this. 

Regarding security, a feasibility study estimated that 2,500 police officers a day would be needed during the three-month event. Its calculations were based on a cost of CHF600 per officer per day. 

The study concluded that the security costs would probably increase further, as happened during the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.