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The Games that never happened : social reception and press coverage of the Kraków bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics (2012-2014) / Michał Mazurkiewicz
Kraków was one of the cities which withdrew from the 2022 Olympic Winter Games bidding process. It dropped its bid after residents voted against the local authorities’ plan. The Games were to be organized together with Slovakia. The initial positive public reception was based on the assumption that the Games might bring in investment, boost the economy and increase tourism. The opposition against Krakow’s bid quickly grew, reaching its peak in late 2013 and early 2014. The emergence and modus operandi of the anti-Olympic Movement, which ultimately ended the bid, attracted the attention of Polish media. Critics raised the huge costs and the question of sports facilities which would have little use after the Games. The group Kraków Against the Olympics called for a referendum, which demonstrated that the majority of the voters rejected the idea of organizing the Games. Local and national media criticism, which grew following the bid committee’s actions, contributed to the large-scale public opposition.