Prague - Mayors from smaller Czech cities and towns who recently joined forces in opposing the plans to hold Olympic Games in Prague in 2016 or 2020 are stepping up their protest.
Entering the lion's den, so to speak, they launched a petition today near Prague's busy intersection Anděl in which they are calling for a nation-wide referendum on the issue.
"When at least one thousand Prague citizens support our petition, the city hall has to address the issue of a possible nation-wide referendum on holding the Olympic Games in Prague," Deputy Mayor of Vysoké Pole from Zlín region Stanislav Polčák told Aktuálně.cz.
A draft law for such a plebiscite has already been prepared by the petitioners, he added.
Olympic Games? No, thank you
More than a thousand local politicians from across the Czech Republic expressed their objection to the recently announced bid to host the major sports event in the Czech capital.
Their main argument against the Olympics in Prague is the costs such an undertaking would require. With the estimated 132 billion Czech Crowns the summer games would easily overshadow the total yearly amount small towns get from the state coffers.
Prague is among the seven cities that compete for the right to host the 2016 Olympic Games along with Baku, Chicago, Doha, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.
Observers believe that the Czech capital has a fair chance to succeed, but more likely in the year 2020.
Stop the tax discrimination
Some 1400 mayors already signed the so-called Pact against the tax discrimination which calls for the existing system of public finances redistribution to be revised.
They believe hosting the Olympics would only deepen the existing disparities between the larger cities and small towns as far as their access to the state funds is concerned.
Within two and a half hour the petition organizers collected about 300 signatures. They believe they can muster the necessary support by tomorrow.
Mayor Polčák said he and his colleagues are only fulfilling the wish of Prague's Mayor Pavel Bém who was heard saying a year ago in a TV debate that he is in favor of holding a nation-wide referendum about the Olympics.
The plebiscite which would cost about 500 million CZK could be held next year, according to Polčák, possibly together with the local or Senate elections.
