Aiming for international attention, Rio de Janeiro brings its campaign for the Games to one of the most important media capitals of the world.
Two days after the release of the bid book in Rio de Janeiro, leaders of the Brazilian bid hosted British and international media at a press conference Monday in London.
While hundreds of journalists attended a three-hour briefing Friday in Rio de Janeiro, the turnout for the hour-long session in London was about 30.
Rio de Janeiro is alone among the four bid cities to take the step of introducing its bid book to an international audience.
The bid books were due at IOC headquarters Feb. 12 and press conferences were held by Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo the day after in each city, as well as Rio de Janeiro.
It should be noted Madrid also has taken the step of using London to cultivate international coverage of the bid. But the reception Madrid hosted for a group of journalists last week in London came prior to the release of the bid book.
“We had a good turnout”, says Catherine St. Laurent of Vero Communications, which organized the Rio de Janeiro event.
“It’s not about having a room filled with hundreds of people. You need the right people in the room,” she says about the London event.
“Holding this in London helps to get out our message to the world,” says St. Laurent.
Along with Olympic beat writers from London media, the press conference also drew the doyen of Olympics reporters, Alain Lunzenfichter of L’Equipe, who travelled from Paris. Bid secretary general Carlos Roberto Osorio was interviewed by BBC World Service following the press conference.
The Brazilian bid leaders were careful in London to speak only about the Rio de Janeiro candidacy, refusing to make comparisons with other cities. Such was the case when the question of an “Obama effect” for the Chicago bid was raised.
Osorio stressed the involvement of the Brazilian government, headed by President Luis Inacio Lula De Silva. Osorio said the full support of the government for $2.6 billion of work needed Olympian Janeth Arcain appeared in London for the Rio de Janeiro bid. (ATR)for a Rio de Janeiro Olympics is an important guarantee as the world economy sputters.
“We felt we needed to offer the IOC all these guarantees because we understand their concerns in the current economic crisis,” he said.
“Brazil presents the safest candidature. We have learned from the past that you need to include everything and that it is guaranteed.”
Also present at the press conference: IOC member Carlos Nuzman, head of the bid and president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee; federal sports minister Orlando Silva; bid marketing chief Leonardo Gryner and two-time Olympic basketball medalist Janeth Arcain.
Written by Ed Hula and Steven Downes
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