Krakow councillors back Winter Olympics referendum

Winter Olympics logo. (Press materials)

At least 30 percent of the city's adult population must take part in the referendum for the result to be valid, hence the decision to coincide the vote with the EU one.

“We believe that the referendum should be held at a time that gives it a real chance of becoming valid,” said councillor Grzegorz Stawowy, who heads Prime Minister Tusk's Civic Platform party on the council.

Civic Platform, which holds a majority among council members, had earlier criticised Mayor Jacek Majchrowski's 25 March announcement that he would seek a referendum, claiming that they were not consulted.

However, the party has come round to the idea, and the council will also take the opportunity to gauge local opinion on a number of other themes.

Besides whether they think Krakow should host the Winter Olympics, city residents will also be asked, among other questions, whether they are for the construction of a metro in Krakow and whether more money should be spent on bicycle lanes.

Four other cities are campaigning to host the 2022 Winter Olympics (Oslo, Beijing, Almaty and Lviv), and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will announce the winning bidder in July 2015.

It has been estimated that the costs for staging the games could reach could surpasss 6 billion zloty (1.4 billion euro). Some of the events would be hosted in Zakopane, Poland's winter capital, and across the border in Slovakia's Jasna resort. (nh)

Source: PAP