2016 Olympic Bid Cities Present Case To IOC
The four cities in the frame to stage the 2016 Olympic Games – Madrid, Tokyo, Chicago and Rio de Janeiro – have made their full technical presentations to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Leaders from the four cities were in the Swiss city of Lausanne to address 93 of the 107 IOC members who will vote on the 2016 host in October.
Each city had 45 minutes to make its case, focusing on the technical details of their bid, followed by a 45-minute question and answer session. IOC members are permitted to visit the bid teams in their hotel suites afterwards.
It is thought that the IOC was paying particular focus to budget plans and finances because of the global economic turndown.
Speaking on the eve of the presentations, IOC president Jacques Rogge said that although members would be looking for financial assurances, the commercial strength of the candidates should not be the key issue for selecting the host city.
‘Economics should not drive our decision. Frequently in the past we did not necessarily go for the richest city and I believe we were right to do that.
‘Ultimately it is not the economics but leaving a sustainable legacy. When we leave, we want it to be a bonus for the city, the region and the country.’
IOC delegates have been barred from visiting candidate cities since the Salt Lake City bribes-for-votes scandal in 1999, so this week’s programme was arranged to give the bid teams direct contact with the members.
