Federal funds proposed for international sporting events

As Switzerland gears up to host a clutch of international sporting events, the government today asked parliament to sign off on a package of financial support. The funding, to the total tune of CHF25.5 million ($26.5 million), is for three rendezvous: the 2020 Youth Winter Olympics, the 2020 Ice Hockey World Championships, and the 2021 Winter Universiade. The organizational (or prestige) levels are hardly that of an event like the European football championships (co-hosted with Austria in 2008) or the Winter Olympics (Sion is bidding for the 2026 edition). But they are of global importance, government said Wednesday. Not only this, but the nature of the Youth Olympics (to be held in Lausanne) and Winter Universiade (Lucerne) in particular are instruments to encourage youth participation in sport, it outlined in its message to parliament. Indeed, the invention of the youth games in 1998 was largely in response to growing global concerns about childhood obesity and the ...