‘The UK can host Winter Olympics – it wouldn’t surprise me if Qatar did too’
Team GB hero Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards revealed how he would support a Winter Olympics in his home nation.
Edwards shot to worldwide fame representing Great Britain in the ski-jump event at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. The national heartthrob has spoken about how he could see the Winter Games being hosted in the UK as popularity in winter sports increases.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Star Sport ahead of National Snow Week at the NEC and ExCeL, the 59-year-old backed the UK in an Winter Olympic bid, but admitted he wouldn’t be surprised if Qatar – a country with the lowest average temperature of 18 degrees Celsius in January – bid for the event as well.
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Edwards said: “You never know. I think that would be great if we could build a two mile downhill run. It’s conceivable really. I wouldn’t be too surprised to hear someone like Qatar hosting the Winter Olympics. They could build a massive indoor mountain and refrigerate it and ski.
“I think it’s more than possible. Who knows with global warming? We do have these kind of freak things and we are getting more of them but who knows?
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“The winters are going longer now because when I used to work out in Europe we used to guarantee snow in early December, now it can be dodgy in early January. Maybe things will swing back. It’s worrying but I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon, I think the Winter Olympics will be here for a long time to come.”
Eddie believes that the UK’s interest in the Winter Olympics and winter sports will continue to grow as more kids begin visiting indoor ski centres. He continued: “I think a lot of people love the Winter Olympics because the sports are so unusual.
“We’re not really a winter nation, we have a bit of snow occasionally and I think we’ve got something like 15million skiers in the UK. We punch way above our weight when it comes to the Winter Olympics.
“Quite recently we’ve done well at skeleton, we’re doing really well at snowboarding with the younger kids. Thanks to the indoor ski centres we have around the UK, I think we punch well above our weight and people love the winter sports. I think the Winter Olympics are still very, very popular, hence the ski shows as well.”
‘ National Snow Week (14th–22nd October) is coming to the NEC and ExCeL this year, featuring expert advice from the biggest and brightest stars in the UK Snowsports scene. Check out more atThe National Snow Week – NEC Birmingham and ExCeL London.
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