2016 Olympic Bid Chiefs See Tight Race

This is very valuable for the bid cities,” says Rio 2016 CEO Carlos Nuzman about attending world championships. (ATR/Panasonic)Leaders of the four bids for the 2016 Olympics tell Around the Rings they expect a tight race for the finish, now less than two months away.

Call them polite, but each of the CEOs say the last two weeks of the campaign are anybody’s game.

“I think all the races are similar. Everybody is working for the same result,” says Carlos Nuzman of Rio 2016.

“If you have 100 people in the room, I think you would get an even split on who they think the finalist will be,” says Patrick Ryan from Chicago 2016.

Madrid 2016 chief Mercedes Coghen notes the finality of the campaign, to be decided by IOC members in an Oct. 2 vote.

“Now is the time for them to be thinking about their votes,” she says.

And Dr. Ichiro Kono of Tokyo 2016 speaks like a coach, trying to make the most of the last 60 days.

“We are very excited to run fast, as we turn the corner for the final stretch,” says Kono.

The four bid leaders spoke to ATR in the past week around their visits to the FINA World Championships in Rome as well as the European Youth Olympic Festival in Finland.

While they all admit to being a bit road-weary (“I live in the sky,” says Kono), they also say they are happy to attend the string of world championships during the next month. They say it fits in with the endgame strategy of contact with IOC members. Bid strategy for Madrid 2016 CEO Mercedes Coghen: “Making the IOC members believe they will be in good hands”. (ATR/Panasonic)

World championships are one of the few meeting places permitted for bid cities and IOC members. With the close of the FINA worlds in Rome, the caravan shifts to Berlin for the IAAF championships, Rotterdam for judo, Poznan for rowing and boxing in Milan. These are the last international events for the bid cities to attend prior to the IOC vote.

“This is very valuable for the bid cities,” says Nuzman, “to be together with sport, the international federations and the IOC members.

“If you are in the competition venues you can talk about the specifics of the sport, the organization of the event, exchange ideas for the future,” he says.

Ryan says he has learned that running a bid takes more time than he once thought it would. But he says the length of the campaign has been good for telling people about Chicago.

“We’re not as well-known as the other cities,” he says.

“Making the IOC members believe they will be in good hands” is the objective of Madrid’s face time with IOC members at these world championships, says Mercedes Coghen.

“We are getting better and better with the communication we have with IOC members,” says Tokyo’s Kono. “I live in the air,” says Tokyo 2016 CEO Ichiro Kono about travel for the bid. (ATR/Panasonic)

Rio de Janeiro is trading on the emotional appeal of awarding the Games to a new part of the world, but that’s just part of the appeal, insist bid leaders.

“Rio brings to the table much more than an inaugural Games in a new continent. We think it is very important, of course, but we are going to be talking to the broader picture. Not only about one important segment of our bid,” says bid general secretary Carlos Roberto Osorio, who joined the call with Nuzman.

For Chicago 2016, the possible appearance of President Barack Obama at the IOC Session in Copenhagen is one of the most-mentioned aspects of the bid. But Ryan kept his comments to a minimum as to whether the president would come.

“He’s strongly supportive of our bid. You’ve seen that with the videos he’s done. You’ve seen that in the opening of the Olympic office in the White House, so we expect continued strong support from the President.” But he noted, “we don’t control the president’s schedule.” “We’re not as well-known as the other cities,” insists Chicago 2016 CEO Patrick Ryan. (ATR/Panasonic)

Tokyo 2016 also isn’t sure about whether its head of state will be in Copenhagen. An election in Japan Aug. 30 could mean a change in the prime minister just a month before the IOC vote. The government of Taro Aso is said to be facing a struggle to stay in power.

But Kono says regardless of the outcome of the election, the bid will enjoy the full support of all major parties in Japan. Kono says the office of the prime minister is aware of the Copenhagen session.

Mercedes Coghen says the Madrid bid still is winning support from the people of the city, despite the deep effect of the recession on the Spanish economy. Unemployment is up to 20 percent and the national economy is shrinking.

“I am very proud, very happy that we have a lot of confidence coming from the citizens. I think they have defined the Olympics as a great challenge, but a great opportunity as well to have new projects for the country, more jobs, more investment. This can give a little bit of hope in some worried minds and hearts.”

Written by Ed Hula.