Article content continued

He said his town hall wasn’t intended to be a “Yes or No” event, but rather was an opportunity to give Calgarians “the facts” around the new proposal.

“Obviously I have my own opinion, but I take very seriously the fact that the city has fallen short in terms of getting that information out there,” he said.

Photo by Darren Makowichuk / DARREN MAKOWICHUK/Postmedia

As the crowd chanted “vote No” and “no trust,” councillors who attended the No rally each addressed the crowd, calling on all Calgarians to shut down the Olympic process by voting against the bid on Nov. 13.

Magliocca doubled down on previous claims of the Games serving as a “legacy project” for Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, while Chu, a former police officer, railed against cuts to the proposed security budget from $610 million to $495 million.

Andrew Williams attended the No Calgary Olympics rally and said his main concerns around a potential bid are unanswered questions about cost overruns and distrust of the International Olympic Committee.

“I think the IOC is pretty corrupt, so why bring them into a city like this?” Williams said.

“I think we’ve got a world-class city, world-class people, we don’t need a 10-day or two-week boondoggle just to verify our status as a world-class city. I think we’re great already.”

Photo by Darren Makowichuk / DARREN MAKOWICHUK/Postmedia

The Yes side of the bid was also out in force on Saturday with pro-Olympic events showcasing the cultural side of the Olympics at Arts Commons, as well as a free family skate at the Olympic Oval alongside Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

Bid supporters held a rally last Monday featuring some Olympic star power, including British ski-jumper Michael (Eddie the Eagle) Edwards, Summer Olympian Donovan Bailey and 1988 Olympic mascots Hidy and Howdy.

The Olympic bid has an estimated price tag of $5.1 billion, with the province saying it would kick in $700 million towards the project and Ottawa covering another $1.423 billion through Sport Canada.

The city was asked to contribute $390 million, including $20 million for a $200-million insurance policy against cost overruns.

RRumbolt@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @RCRumbolt