Bidding for the Games -- Chicago 2016 Spent $70.8 Million; Rome 2020

Chicago Bid Spent $70 Million

Tax documents released by Chicago 2016 show the bid spent a total of $70.6 million in 2009. Nearly $7 million was left in the bid committee’s coffers, all of which was donated to World Sport Chicago, a non-profit that promotes Olympic sports throughout Chicago.

Payroll accounted for $3.8 million in 2009. Bid leader Patrick Ryan did not receive a salary for the year.

A total of $736,025 was spent on lobbying efforts for the bid.

PR firm Hill & Knowlton and ad agency Ogilvy & Mather both received $1.2 million in contracts from Chicago 2016 in 2009.

Freeman event planning had a $641,000 contract, DeMarsh Construction, was paid $452,000 for construction consulting, and RSA Films, earned $407,000 from the bid.

U.S. non-profits are required to disclose their spending to the IRS.

Rome for 2020

The Italian National Olympic Committee selected Rome to bid for the 2020 Olympics.

Venice was the other city vying for the NOC's nod.

A formal announcement will come Wednesday.

Munich 2018 Opens Office, Names Marketing Director

Munich 2018 opens an office in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on the same day the bid names a marketing director.

Bavarian Prime Minister Horst Seehofer and Munich 2018 officials will open the office in Garmisch-Partenkirchen Tuesday night. The city is the proposed site for alpine events. Bid officials say the office will strengthen communication between the bid and the citizens in the region.

Munich 2018 also announced on Tuesday that it is gearing up to launch its international campaign by hiring promotion experts Deutsche Sport-Marketing.

Stefan Bruckner is joining Munich 2018 as marketing director, and will lead the international campaign after the IOC officially names candidate cities for the 2018 Winter Games on June 18. Bruckner has experience marketing the Olympics and sports in Germany through his association with DSM. DSM is the marketing agency for the German NOC.

He is joined by DSM employee Christiane Krauter, who will market Munich 2018 locally.

"With Stefan Bruckner and the DSM team, we are bringing marketing experts on board who have extensive experience in the Olympic Games sector and who can give a further boost to the Munich 2018 bid in the world of business," said Munich 2018 CEO Willy Bogner. "Together, we will bring the message of Munich’s friendly Games to an even wider audience."

Pyeongchang 2018 Athlete Committee

A group of 24 Korean sports heroes including gold medalist figure skater Yu-Na Kim are assisting the PyeongChang bid for the 2018 Winter Games.

The PyeongChang 2018 Athletes Committee held its inaugural meeting in PyeongChang on Tuesday. The athlete committee advises the bid on venues and other matters of including event operations.

The athlete committee includes six Olympic champions including speed skaters Sang-Hwa Lee, Taebum Mo, Seung-hoon Lee, Lee-Kyung Chun and So-hee Kim; and Yu-Na Kim.

England 2018 Names Communications Partner to Help Restore Credibility

England 2018 confirms Weber Shandwick as the World Cup bid team's international communications provider under efforts to boost their campaign following the damaging revelations that forced bid chairman David Triesman to quit.

The appointment, which had been widely expected for several months, was timed to get the bid back on track following Triesman's forced resignation as chairman of the bid and the Football Association on Sunday.

He stepped down after a Mail on Sunday story reported comments he made to a "friend" that were covertly recorded in which he said Spain was trying to buy Russia’s help to "bribe" referees at the World Cup in return for its withdrawal from the running to host the 2018 finals.

Click here to see the full version of "England 2018 Names Communications Partner to Help Restore Credibility" at www.WorldFootballInsider.com.

Written by Ed Hula III and Sam Steinberg.