[Peapeuddedbaw]

Four on 2016 Olympics short-list

From BBC



Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro are the cities shortlisted by the International Olympic Committee to host the 2016 Olympic Games.

Doha, Prague and Baku were eliminated from the nominal list of potential hosts by the IOC executive board.

IOC president Jacques Rogge said: "All bids were of a high standard. It's a tribute to the health of the Olympic Movement that the field was so strong."

The IOC will select a winning city at a secret ballot on 2 October 2009.

The strongest contender in terms of infrastructure, support and money is Chicago, which is bidding to host the first summer Olympics in America since Atlanta in 1996.

The Americans will however have to improve the technical aspect of their bid after an IOC evaluation report ranked Tokyo and Madrid higher than Chicago, with Rio in fourth place.


Many will tip Chicago but favourites don't often win


Chicago's bid chairman Patrick Ryan said there was plenty more work to be done to improve their bid.

"Four cities is better than five," he said. "Three would have been better than four. But we're very proud to be one of the four. It's exhilarating.

"There are a few things we've learned - don't assume anything, be humble, and work, work, work. And we're going to work right to the end."

Rio de Janeiro, where the first Pan-American Games were held in 2007, would be the first South American city to host the Olympics.

Madrid, meanwhile, is bidding on the back of finishing a close third behind London and Paris in the race for the 2012 Games, and Tokyo hopes to host the event for the first time since 1964.

"We are very happy with the decision by the IOC," said Tokyo bid chief Ichiro Kono.

"We are also delighted with the evaluation but we have not seen it yet and we must now analyse it very carefully to strengthen our weak points and make our strong points stronger."

Doha, the capital of Qatar, successfully staged the 2006 Asian Games and was regarded as a wild card but the city failed to make the cut despite having hired a high-powered team to run the campaign in the hope of making it to the final vote in Copenhagen.

Some of the IOC's executive board members had argued that a city with a population of around 500,000 was too small, while Doha's plan to hold the Games in October to avoid the searing summer desert heat proved unpopular.

"The weather was the main reason we were left off the shortlist," said Doha bid official Aneesa Al Hitimi.

"Qatar are the leaders in the Middle East and we would have staged 2016 perfectly. God willing, Qatar will make it in the future."

[UncoonsKala]

June 5, 2008

Chicago Stays in Running After Early Vote to Decide Host of 2016 Olympics

By JULIET MACUR

Chicago joined three cities Wednesday in moving a step closer to becoming the host of the 2016 Olympics, setting up a final, fierce race to see which one will hold those Summer Games.

At a meeting in Athens, the International Olympic Committee announced that Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo made the last cut. Doha, Qatar; Prague; and Baku, Azerbaijan, were dropped from the competition.

“This is a great day for Chicago,” Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley said in a statement. “I want to thank the International Olympic Committee for this vote of confidence in our city.”

A flap over revenue sharing between the I.O.C. and the United States Olympic Committee arose during the meetings before Wednesday’s vote, adding some tension. The Dutch I.O.C. member Hein Verbruggen called the U.S.O.C.’s revenue percentage an “immoral amount of money compared to what other people get.”

The U.S.O.C. spokesman Darryl Seibel said the rift over finances should not affect Chicago’s chances to win the 2016 Games when the I.O.C.’s 110 members vote in October 2009.

“We’re concerned about the timing,” Seibel said. “But at the end of the day, this issue is separate and apart from our bid. Our bid should be and will be evaluated on its merits.”

Before this week’s vote, the I.O.C.’s executive board evaluated each candidate city based on its technical abilities to host the Games, looking at 11 categories that included general infrastructure, safety and security, sports venues, Olympic village and transportation.

Tokyo finished first in the rankings, with Madrid not far behind. Chicago and Doha tied for third. Prague and Baku finished sixth and seventh.

Rio was fifth, but made the top four because the I.O.C. frowned upon Doha’s proposal to hold the Games in October to avoid the Middle Eastern summer.

“It would disrupt athletes’ training programs and overload the sports schedule at an already busy time of the year,” the I.O.C. spokeswoman Giselle Davies said, according to The Associated Press.

The candidate cities have until February to prepare a detailed description of their bid. Despite its third-place finish in this round, Chicago’s bid is still viable. During the bidding for the 2012 Olympics, London, the eventual winner, was third at this phase of the vote, with Paris first and Madrid second.

Chicago finished fifth in some categories, including sports venues and transportation. The I.O.C. board raised the support that Chicago’s government has given for the city’s bid for the Games, saying the wording in the bid did not conform to I.O.C. rules. The board also questioned the construction estimates for the venues, saying they were too low.

The transportation along Lake Michigan, where some of the Olympic sites would be located, needs to be improved because there is no link to rail lines, the evaluation said.

“We are going to study the report and we’re going to learn from that and correct all the deficiencies,” The Associated Press quoted Chicago’s bid leader, Patrick Ryan, as saying.

United States Olympic officials plan to continue talks with their international counterparts to end the disagreement over revenue sharing long before the final vote on the 2016 Olympic city. United States officials have submitted proposals regarding changes in the revenue sharing, but those proposals have been rejected.

The U.S.O.C., which receives no government funding, receives 12.75 percent of United States broadcast rights fees and 20 percent of the I.O.C.’s global marketing revenues. I.O.C. officials want to reduce those percentages.

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

[Slintreeoost]

June 4, 2008, 12:42 pm

Chicago Becomes 2016 Finalist as Dispute Flares Between I.O.C. and ‘Immoral’ U.S.O.C.

By Jeff Z. Klein

The International Olympic Committee has announced that Chicago is among four cities selected as finalists to play host to the 2016 Summer Games, along with Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

Prague; Baku, Azerbaijan; and Doha, Qatar were eliminated from contention by the I.O.C. decision, which was made in Athens today. “All the bids were of a very high standard,” said I.O.C. President Jacques Rogge. “It is a tribute to the health of the Olympic Movement that the field was so strong.”

The selection comes as a rift widens between the I.O.C. and the United States Olympic Committee. In another sign that declining U.S. economic strength is taking its toll on what was once America’s hegemony in the world of sports, the I.O.C. said earlier today that it aims to lessen the “immoral” share of funds the U.S. Olympic Committee receives from domestic television rights and international marketing revenue.

The I.O.C. maintains that the roughly $100 million the U.S.O.C. gets annually from its 13 percent share of American television rights fees and 20 percent share of worldwide marketing revenue, an arrangement negotiated in an era when the U.S. dollar was the world’s strongest currency and American networks held unrivaled power in international television, must be revisited.
AP Photo/Robert F. BukatyInternational Olympic Committee member Hein Verbruggen: “How you can justify that the rest of the world has to pay for the training of American athletes? Are we out of our minds?” (Associated Press / Robert F. Bukaty)

Hein Verbruggen, an I.O.C. member from the Netherlands, called the deal “immoral” and said he was “angry with these people,” meaning the U.S.O.C., for their reluctance to renegotiate. “I simply do not understand how you can justify that the rest of the world has to pay for the training of American athletes,” he said. “Are we out of our minds?”

Supporters of the U.S. position point out that 60 percent of the I.O.C.’s revenues still come from American TV and sponsors. But as Reuters reports, I.O.C. members from other countries complain that the American Olympic Committee does not contribute to costs for the Court of Arbitration for Sport or the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Moreover, the news agency adds, “the sponsorship situation has changed considerably with Chinese, Canadian, Japanese and South Korean companies penning global deals with the I.O.C. and broadcasting revenues increasing around the world.”

As Joe Nocera reports in the current issue of the Times’s Play magazine, a Chinese sporting goods company most Americans have never heard of, “>Li-Ning, will be as much of a presence in the run-up to Beijing 2008 as older giants in the field like the U.S. company Nike. With markets like that of China’s 1.3 billion people, as well as the rising economic power of other large countries like Russia, India and those of the European Union, it’s easy to see why American business no longer rules the roost in world sport.

Some officials associated with the Chicago bid have expressed concern that the dispute with the I.O.C. could hinder the city’s chances for the 2016 Games.

However, as the Chicago Tribune reports, I.O.C. President Jacques Rogge says a “sign of goodwill” from U.S.O.C. officials on resolving the revenue dispute “could be very good for Chicago.”

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

[tousuarshatly]

I think it would be interesting to see either Chicago or Madrid hold the 2016 Olympics.

[Zjohkrbi]

Chicago just might be THE happening city for the foreseeable future

[fapourfasiark]

I want Rio to get it. South America never having held the games isnt cool. I also think the developing country would benefit most from holding the games.

[maliboia]

I think it's highly unlikely that either Madrid or Tokyo gets it, since Asia and Europe will have hosted three consecutive summer Olympics.

Rio's an interesting choice, I think, and if they put up a good bid, they very well may get it. I still think it's Chicago's race to lose, and they will form a strong bid. As the NYTimes article pointed out though, there are diplomatic problems in play between the US and the heavily European IOC. It will be interesting to see if Obama is elected President. As a Chicagoan he may do some extra lobbying to bring the games home to the US and to his home city.

[soonahonsefalh]

Rio would seem to be the best choice.

But Chicago or Rio would be fine by me ...

Either would mean that in NYC we get to see events in REAL time and at a civilized time of day -- rather than having to watch taped delays or stay up until 3 AM to see things live.

[sposteTipsKage]

I say Rio or Chicago also.

[hwood]

If Chicago were to get it then New York would not have any chance until 2032 () at the absolute earliest. I'm rooting for Rio on this one simply so that New York can put up a decent bid for the 2020 games.

[Fdmnrnba]

I doubt NY could put in a winning bid then either unfortunately.

[autolubitelone]

I doubt NY could put in a winning bid then either unfortunately.

Agreed, NY had its chance. Its clear our State politicians didnt care about the money they lost out on. Im rooting for Chicago or Rio, with Rio being my favorite

[PRengin]

My city in Scotland has the 2014 Commonwealth games, Glasgow. That city has also held a Champions League and UEFA cup final. Scotland holds numerous large events every year and has an outside chance of holding the European Championships (currently being held jointly between Switzerland and Austria), the 3rd largest sporting event in the world outside the World Cup and the Olympics, in 2012 if Poland and Ukraine arent up to standard. Im very much hope Glasgow can obtain the Olympics in the near future.