My Impressiv Moments Of The Olympics

By Roberto

In our opinion about four candidate cities Olympics in 2016

The IOC's 13-member evaluation team began its four-day inspection of Tokyo's bid Thursday and received a detailed outline of the city's plans from Tokyo 2016 organizers. "We will abide in full by every guarantee in the candidate file," Prime Minister Taro Aso, who competed in shooting at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, told the IOC delegates. "We will ensure whatever needs to be done will be done. Whatever needs to be built, will be built. Whatever needs to be financed, will be financed." The IOC's evaluation team will get a tour of the proposed venues Friday. Thursday's presentation was followed by a 30-minute question and answer session. Tokyo organizers did not say what the specific questions were, but said they were answered convincingly. Tokyo organizers say their bid offers the most compact games, with almost all venues located less than five miles from the main stadium. There are questions being raised about a major player in Tokyo's bid for the games -- a politician with a reputation as a loose cannon. Gov. Shintaro Ishihara greeted the chairwoman; he's the equivalent of Chicago's mayor, though he's only in his third term; Mayor Daley is in his sixth. The governor, a former sailboat racer, had a better quote: "I have never participated in a race where it is so difficult to read the direction of the wind." He sure knows now, after reacting Thursday to demands that the IOC reject Tokyo's bid because of his past comments about Japanese rule of China and Korea in the early 1900s as "gentle, fair, and equitable." Some historians call Japan's occupation "an Asian Holocaust." At this point, it's too early to tell whether the governor's comments constitute that big mistake you have to avoid at this stage of the game. But if it costs Tokyo even a handful of votes, it could be fatal to the city's Olympic hopes. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Olympics and plans to use many of the facilities from those games if awarded the 2016 Games. Tokyo says 23 of its proposed 34 venues already exist and that land has been secured for the 11 new facilities. Five of the new venues would be permanent, including the main Olympic stadium on the city's central waterfront that would hold 100,000 spectators for track and field events and the opening and closing ceremonies. Tokyo is also confident of its financial security amid the global economic downturn. The city has an annual budget of about $66 billion and has already secured a $4 billion special budget in cash for the Games. The IOC will vote on the host city at Copenhagen on Oct. 2. Besides Tokyo and Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro are also competing. During its visit, the evaluation team will also inspect Tokyo's infrastructure, transport system and hotels, with Aso saying he was convinced they would be impressed. "Tokyo has an excellent urban structure with the world's best transportation networks and accommodation," Aso said. "It is one of world's most advanced cities in terms of the sports, environment, and public safety."

By Wannipa Khaengkit

Roberto

International Olympic Committee still searching for 2016 host city

The race to become the host city of the 2016 Olympic Summer Games is a tight one between four unique and vastly different locations: Tokyo, Madrid, Chicago and Rio de Janeiro.According to the Boston Globe, each city has pros and cons, distinctive advantages and obvious disadvantages.

Tokyo may be the most technologically outfitted to host the Games, but its location could prove to be its downfall. The IOC may be reluctant to have the Summer Games in an Asian city eight years after Beijing was the host.

Madrid also is a leading contender and has political connections. Former IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch is a Spaniard and is vigorously campaigning to bring the 2016 Games to his mother country’s capital. However, like Tokyo, Madrid’s disadvantage is its location. The IOC may not want another European city after hosting two recent Olympics (Athens in 2004 and London in 2012) on that continent.Chicago, therefore, has the geographical edge.

The United States hasn’t hosted the Summer Olympics since Atlanta in 1996. But the concern with Chicago is financial. While bidders have assured the IOC that private insurance will cover any deficits, Chicago’s political figures are worried that the taxpayers will end up bearing the brunt of the expenses.Given the current state of the economy, the United States government is unable to financially boost Chicago’s status. But President Barack Obama, one of Chicago’s own, recently created the White House Office of Olympic, Paralympic, and Youth Sport, which manages federal resources for any American hosting committee. Such explicitly strong federal support is a very significant advantage for Chicago and one in which not many American candidate cities (most notably New York in its bid for the 2012 Games) have been able to enjoy in the past.

Like Chicago, Rio de Janeiro also has a geographical edge. A very substantial one. No South American city has ever hosted an Olympic Games. To make sure this fact was not overlooked,Rio de Janeiro’s officials brought a map marked with host cities to their briefing with the IOC in Lausanne, Switzerland. They also brought the head of Brazil’s central bank to answer any questions about financing and to remind the IOC that Brazil’s economy has come a long way.Rio de Janeiro already has proved it can handle the logistics of a major sporting event. The 2007 Pan American Games took place there, and Brazil is set to stage the 2014 World Cup. By the time the 2016 Olympics arrive, many of the amenities necessary will already be in place.Thus, the four-way race continues. Each city would make a fantastic host, but it will come down to what the IOC wants. We know who America is rooting for.

By Roberto

IMPRESSIONS OF THE FOUR CANDIDATE CITIES

The four candidate cities bidding to host the Games of the xxxi Olympiad in 2016-Chicago (USA), Toyo (Japan), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Madrid (Spain) were all at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne (Switzerland) today to give a technical briefing to the 93 members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who were present for the event. Today’s presentations , which resulted in dozens of detailed question, will be followed tomorrow by an opportunity for members to ask more follow-up questions to each city about their projects, as well as giving the media an opportunity to meet with each of the Candidate Cities.

IOC President Jacques Rogge said,” Since my election in 2001, we have been making a concerted effort at the IOC to improve our transfer of knowledge capacities and to ensure the evaluation process continues to be clear and offers criteria from which the cities can be evaluated. The fact that we have four cities with very strong projects bidding for the 2016 Games is testament to that work and to the success of recent edition of the Games. As part of the natural evolution of our effort, today’s briefings are allowing us to continue to bring more transparency, fairness and professionalism to the evaluation process, which has been underlined by the active participation of my fellow members.” The briefing comes closely on the heels of the four-day visits of the IOC’s Evaluation Commission, led by IOC Member Newel EL Moutawakel, to each of the Candidate Cities. The Commission is now in the process of producing its evaluation report, which will be distributed to the IOC member no later than one month before election day. The final vote will be held in Copenhagen (Denmark) on 2 October 2009.

IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Filly commented, “ Under the leadership of President Rogge, the IOC has developed a strong focus on the transfer of knowledge between Games, in order to ensure that the Games remain as the number one sporting event in the world. The bid process is also a part of that, and there was a strong feeling, following the 2014 bid, that a technical meeting like today’s would be useful for all the concerned. We have taken that feed back on board and all the Candidate Cities now have and additional opportunity to make their case in detail, on an equal platform and in a less formal way than at Session at which the host city is elected.

By Wannipa Khaengkit