Next year’s Special Olympics BC Summer Games won’t be the end of Prince George’s aspirations as a tournament host.
City council unanimously voted at its Monday, Dec. 16 meeting for Prince George to submit a letter of intent to host either the 2028 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games or the 2030 Canada Summer Games.
Similar to the Olympic Games, the Special Olympics National Games are held every two years, alternating between summer and winter games.
The 2028 tournaments will be the Winter Games and the 2030 the Summer Games. The year after the national games, the Special Olympics World Games are held.
The manager of the Prince George Conference and Civic Centre, Debbie Haywood, said city staff have previously met with Special Olympics representatives to discuss the bid requirements.
Now that the motion has passed, staff will further develop their bid and examine the feasibility of Prince George hosting the games.
The bid guidelines for the 2028 Winter Games and 2030 Summer Games say that the tournament is typically held over five days in either February or early March, with athletes arriving the day before the competition starts and leaving the day after it ends.
Haywood confirmed that the games would not conflict with the BC Natural Resources Forum held in Prince George every January.
Special Olympics Canada estimates around 1,300 athletes will participate in the Winter Games across eight sports: Five-pin bowling, alpine skiing, cross country skiing, curling, figure skating, floor hockey or floor ball, snowshoeing and speed skating.
The Summer Games are also held over five days, usually in July or August.
These sports are part of the Summer Games: 10-pin bowling, athletics, basketball, bocce, golf, powerlifting, rhythmic gymnastics, seven-a-side soccer, softball and swimming.
In 2024, Calgary hosted the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games.
According to the bid guidelines document, the City of Calgary, the Province of Alberta and the Government of Canada each contributed an initial amount of $5,737,928 towards the games. By the end of the tournament, the city was estimated to have received an economic impact of around $7.6 million, the province an impact of around $8.5 million and the federal government around $10.9 million.
The last time BC hosted the national Winter Games was in 2014, when Vancouver welcomed athletes from across the country. BC does not appear to have hosted the national Summer Games before. The next iteration in 2026 will be hosted by Medicine Hat, Alta.
For the 2028 games, interested communities are expected to submit a letter of intent by Dec. 20. Then they have until March 1, 2025, to submit their full bid.
The month after, representatives from Special Olympics Canada will visit two or three shortlisted potential hosts. Then, the host city is expected to be announced in July 2025.
As part of the submission, cities must outline how their community’s facilities will accommodate the sports involved in the tournament, how athletes will be fed and given shelter, how athletes will be transported to and from events, how they intend to recruit volunteers, a marketing and communications plan, a suggested program for the opening and closing ceremonies, information on local medical services, fundraising ideas, financing and other logistical details.
The selected host, referred to as the Games Organizing Committee, will be provided a $500,000 operating grant and will be responsible for arranging the 1,500 volunteers needed to bring the games to life.
The 2025 provincial games start with opening ceremonies at the CN Centre on Thursday, July 10. The sporting events will take place on July 11 and 12.
The athletes-only closing ceremony is on July 12 before the competitors return home the next day. On July 13, there will be a volunteer appreciation fair at the Canada Games Plaza.
