Bidding for the Games -- 2016, 2020 Olympics, 2014 Youth Games, Pan Am 2015

Brazilian Olympic Committee President Carlos Nuzman with Solange Amaral, one of the 11 candidates for Rio de Janeiro mayor who received briefings on the city’s Olympic bid. (Rio 2016) Rio de Janeiro Holds Marathon Briefing for Mayoral Candidates

The last of 11 candidates for mayor of Rio de Janeiro will be briefed Friday on the city’s bid for the 2016 Olympics.

Marketing director Leonardo Gryner tells Around the Rings that the three days of briefings got underway Wednesday.

Each candidate has up to one hour with bid leaders Carlos Nuzman and Carlos Osorio at the headquarters of the Brazilian Olympic Committee. Along with a presentation on the project, the politicians have the chance to raise questions.

All 11 are supporting the Olympic bid, says Gryner.

The election takes place Oct. 5, the date for municipal elections in more than 5,000 cities across Brazil. A runoff may be needed in Rio de Janeiro, which would take place Nov. 2.

The candidates are seeking to succeed Cesar Maia, who has held the post for two four-year terms, the limit by law.

“Chicago Believes” Set for July 14

Chicago 2016 has room for 7,000 at Millennium Park for a July 14 extravaganza titled “Chicago Believes…”. Millennium Park in downtown Chicago, site of the July 14 “Chicago Believes” event. (City of Chicago)

“It’s two events in one, a fundraiser and a free concert and celebration, a sendoff for the Beijing Olympics,” Chicago 2016 communications chief Patrick Sandusky tells ATR.

A $500 a plate dinner at the park to benefit the bid is sold out with more than 2,000 guests, he says.

Mayor Richard Daley and bid chair Patrick Ryan will speak, along with “a host of Olympians” who will appear at the dinner says Sandusky. Olympian Bart Connor is master of ceremonies.

The event includes sports demonstrations and musical performances from late afternoon into the evening.

Tokyo Pub Opinion Push

Tokyo 2016 officials claim Japanese support for the Olympic bid is currently over 70 percent and rising every day, knocking back an Associated Press report on the bid’s popularity. Tokyo 2016 officials say public support is increasing. (ATR)

The report cites figures from an IOC-sponsored survey that showed just 59 percent of Tokyo residents supported the bid. The figure was the lowest of the four candidate cities.

“Any contrasting figures are completely at odds with two independent studies from the Japan Association for Public Opinion Research reported by Kyodo Newswire at 70 percent and Yomiuri Shimbun's study at 72 percent that confirm that more than 90 million people back our bid,” says bid chair Ichiro Kono in a statement issued soon after the AP report.

Kono says he expects the Beijing Olympics will help raise the popularity of the bid.

“There is still a long way to go and I am confident the official IOC Survey further down the line will prove that support for the Games at the heart of city life is strong, convincing and passionate.”

The IOC is expected to conduct another survey of opinion in Tokyo later this year.

On Thursday, more than 10 members of Tokyo 2016's Athletes' Commission visited some of the proposed 2016 venues and sites from the Heritage Zone to Tokyo Bay Zone.

Mihoko Nakagawa has joined the Tokyo bid team as its new director for international communications. Nakagawa has a background in television and most recently worked in PR for UNICEF.

Madrid Bid Wins Public Support Tally

Madrid 16 CEO Mercedes Coghen says the campaign to land the Olympics is gathering momentum after a new survey revealed huge support for the bid. If figures from Madrid 2016 are accurate, about 90 percent of this crowd at a Real Madrid match might be in favor of the Olympic bid. (ATR)The Spanish capital is already the leader in public opinion among the four cities in the 2016 contest.

More than 90 percent of Spaniards say they want the Olympics to come to the capital city and over two-thirds are confident the country will be successful in its bid, according to the nationwide poll.

“These figures of public support are phenomenal and show without a doubt just how much Spain wants these Games and how popular they would be,” says Coghen.

The survey also found that 95 percent of respondents believe the Olympics will provide lasting benefits for the city.

Between a third and two-thirds of Spaniards said they would “definitely” or “probably” visit the capital during an Olympics to experience the buzz, with one in four saying they would definitely attend a sporting event.

2020 Overtures from St. Petersburg

The Russian Olympic Committee tells Around the Rings there have been no discussions with St. Petersburg or Moscow authorities about bidding for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

“There are no discussions at this particular moment. It is just an idea in St. Petersburg,” says Victor Khotochkin, executive first vice-president of the NOC.

“There is no official request from Moscow,” he adds.

“If we have some papers we can consider it, but if there is no document we can't.”

St Petersburg governor Valentina Matviyenko told Russian radio Monday that the city would bid for the 2020 Games. “If not in 2020, then certainly by the time of the next [2024] Games,” Matviyenko said.

Such a move may be supported by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, a native of St Petersburg, who is overseeing preparations for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.

The Summer Olympics were last held in Russia in 1980 in Moscow, which was unsuccessful in a bid for the 2012 Games.

A Moscow source tells ATR that the Russian capital is unlikely to bid for 2020, especially if Madrid brings the Olympics to Europe again in 2016.

“Right now I am certain that there are no plans for any Olympic initiative but that might change in a couple of years,” he said.

Busan, South Korea and Prague, Czech Republic are among the cities which have proclaimed an early interest in bidding for the 2020 Olympics.

Rouen, France for 2014 Youth Olympics

French NOC president Henri Sérandour is backing Rouen's plans to bid for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. AFP reports that the city will bid for the second edition of the summer YOG.

Singapore is hosting the inaugural YOG in 2010. The Youth Olympics are designed for 3,500 athletes, aged 14 to 18.

Netherlands Looks to 2028

The Dutch NOC is investigating the possibility of bidding for the 2028 Olympics. A major Olympics exhibition at the Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam explores ideas to bring the Olympics to Holland, a century after the Games were staged in Amsterdam.

Dutch NOC leaders are currently preparing a bid for the 2013 European Youth Olympic Festival.

Government Support Needed for Ontario Pan Am Bid

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is being pushed to make a decision on supporting a bid for the 2015 Pan American Games from Ontario. Backers of the bid say they need a declaration from the federal government before the Beijing Olympics.

Jim Byers reports in the Toronto Star that the Canadian Olympic Committee wants to begin lobbying Pan American Sports Organization leaders at the Games in China.

Other bids for 2015 Pan Ams may come from Colombia, Peru and Venezuela. The 2011 Pan Am Games will take place in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The Canadian bid would use venues circling Lake Ontario in Toronto, Hamilton and other cities.

Written by Ed Hula and Mark Bisson

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