If Sweden makes a decision and invites Latvia to be a cooperation partner, the municipality of Sigulda will gladly engage in negotiations, because it believes that participation in the Olympic Games will provide Sigulda and Latvia with "investments not only at the time of the specific event, but also in the future perspective".
Sigulda County Council Chairperson Līga Sausiņa (National Alliance) emphasizes that the Latvian government will make the final decision on any Latvian involvement in a Swedish bid and that it would require substantial investments in the renovation of the landmark bobsleigh and luge track at Sigulda.
The head of the municipality says that it is important to understand that this is not only a matter of the Olympic Games as an event, but the future of the Sigulda bobsleigh and luge track, including the long-term impact on the economy of Latvia and the Sigulda region.
Investments in the context of Sigulda region, which are planned to be made in case of having to prepare for the Olympics, are said to be necessary even if the Olympics do not take place. "Already for 2026, as a candidate to become the venue for the Olympic Games, a plan was developed for the construction of a new residential block, the so-called 'Olympic village', which in the future will provide space for both the development of the housing stock and the opening of a new preschool educational institution. Likewise, the adjacent road infrastructure development is already planned," said Sausiņa.
The Swedish government this week backed a bid to host the 2030 Winter Olympics, according to the Swedish Olympic Committee (SOC).
As a partner for hosting the games, Sweden has approached Latvia with the intention of using the Sigulda track for luge, bobsleigh and skeleton competitions.
In an interview on Latvian Radio in October, the Director of the Sports Department of the Ministry of Education and Science (IZM) Vladimirs Šteinbergs explained that in the event that Latvia participates in the 2030 Winter Olympic Games by hosting competitions at the Sigulda track, then approximately 58 million euros will have to be invested in the reconstruction of this facility.
