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