Urs Lehmann is looking for contact with business so that he is not dependent on the state to finance the 2038 Winter Olympics.Bild: keystone
Sport and business met at the Sportforum in Lucerne. A symbiosis that is crucial for Switzerland’s 2038 Olympic plans. Because this requires financial support on an unprecedented scale.
Rainer Sommerhalder / ch media
It is a core topic in Switzerland’s Olympic plans and was also eagerly discussed at the Swiss Sports Forum in Lucerne last week. The 2038 Winter Games are to be financed to a considerable extent privately. In addition to the high three-digit million sum from the IOC and the spectator income, the initiators around Swiss Ski President Urs Lehmann are planning to use money from business in the amount of 250 million for the budget.
Urs Lehmann speaks of “a challenge, because there are new dimensions for Swiss sport”. He says that there are already two or three approaches that now need to be deepened. The first signals from the economy make him very confident.
This is what possible venues for the Winter Games in Switzerland could look like.Bild: watson/Shutterstock
The organizers’ financing plans were already advanced for the original turbo variant of bringing the Olympic Games to Switzerland in 2030. According to reports, billionaire and Sporthilfe President Urs Wietlisbach and his extremely powerful network played an important role. Entrepreneur Wietlisbach is friends with Urs Lehmann and is also personally involved in the snow sports initiative together with Swiss Ski.
In addition to companies, strong private individuals are also in demand
However, Wietlisbach is rather skeptical about 2038 due to the time dimension and the advanced age of its network partners. Urs Lehmann absolutely does not want to name any names of possible sponsors and supporters. However, he confirms that new forms of support are needed beyond traditional sponsorship and that, in addition to companies, private individuals could also be considered.
Michael Hartweg presented his innovative project Muuvr – a digital reward system for endurance activities – at the Sport Forum in Lucerne. The investor became known for the Lenzerheide Biathlon Arena, one of the largest private investments in Swiss sport in recent years. Personally, he is financially too small a fish for the 2038 Winter Games. But when asked how realistic it is to generate a quarter of a billion in private revenue in Switzerland, he answers: “250 million? Yes, I think that’s possible.”
Entrepreneur Michael Hartweg (left) knows his way around investing in sports.Image: imago sports photo service
There are enough powerful people in Switzerland who would be suitable for such an investment. “They all benefited from the conditions in Switzerland – and from tax breaks. So it’s an opportunity to give something back – even as private individuals. But you have to convince them of the social value of this event. For them, the story behind their commitment has to be right.”
Diego Zuger, the co-managing director of Swiss Ski, is currently working on this “story”. He sits on a committee called “Circle” together with marketing experts from the IOC and Infront. Because there is hardly any know-how in Switzerland when it comes to developing sponsorship concepts of this size, the initiators are relying on international experience. A good ten years ago, Zuger was involved in the project for his then employer Infront on the occasion of the Graubünden Olympic plans for 2022.
Not a TV appearance, but part of a movement
For Zuger, too, the vision that is sold to potential donors is crucial. “It should be a generational project that gives our partners visibility for at least 12 years. You become part of a movement, but it is no longer a classic sponsorship on this scale.”
Diego Zuger is one of very few Swiss sports officials who has already developed a marketing concept for the Olympic Games.Bild: keystone
In addition to companies, private individuals, foundations and SMEs could also be considered as partners. Due to the IOC rules, they do not receive any visibility or TV presence at the event itself, but they are allowed to advertise and appear with the Olympic symbols. “I am convinced that we can present a concept in which the value for partners is right,” saysüger. But he also says that the financial commitment to the Winter Games “will probably not come from traditional sponsorship budgets”. The Olympic Games definitely mean a special effort for the economy. (aargauerzeitung.ch)
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