Bidding for the Games: White House Team to Denmark, Madrid Delegation

Copenhagen Inspected by White House Team

The lead organizer for next week’s IOC Session and Congress tells Around the Rings that uncertainty still clouds the presence of U.S. President Barack Obama in Copenhagen.

“I am aware of the rumors but we haven’t got final confirmation that he will take part in the presentation of the Chicago bid,” said Karl Christian Koch, secretary general of the Danish NOC and chair of the coordination committee for the Olympic meetings.

Koch said he was aware that the U.S. government had sent an advance team to Denmark in preparation for a possible trip by the president but he had no further details.

“We still don’t know really but it looks like if he has a possibility and if time in his calendar, looking into the different challenges he has right now, it seems as if he will come over here,”

Obama’s presence in Copenhagen appears to hinge on the status of health care reform bills in the U.S. Congress. First Lady Michelle Obama is already confirmed as the White House envoy to the IOC Session. Senior Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, a member of the Chicago 2016 delegation, will also play a key role.

Koch did confirm that 100 members of the IOC administration are heading out to Copenhagen in the coming days to prepare the Bella Convention Center for the Session and Congress.

Some have already arrived and begun preparations for the Olympic meetings. The 13th IOC Congress, designed to take the pulse of the Olympic Movement, is a significant workload for the IOC; the last congress was held in 1994.

IOC President Jacques Rogge is expected to arrive Sept. 29, just three days before the IOC vote on the 2016 Olympic city. Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo are the candidate cities.

Madrid to Confirm Delegation

King of Spain Juan Carlos will lead Madrid 2016’s bid delegation to Copenhagen, with confirmation of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero also expected when the bid team is officially unveiled Tuesday.

Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón, bid committee CEO Mercedes Coghen, Spain’s IOC member Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. and Alejandro Blanco, president of the Spanish Olympic Committee, are the other senior members of the Madrid bid.

Spanish sports stars with a possible role in Madrid’s final pitch to IOC members on Oct. 2 are also likely to be named Tuesday.

The likelihood of tennis player Rafael Nadal traveling to Copenhagen increased today when the world number two pulled out of next week's Thailand Open as he continues to recover from an abdominal injury. Raul, the captain of La Liga football giants Real Madrid, could also be among the sporting greats lining up for the Spanish bid team.

A Madrid 2016 spokesman tells Around the Rings that the focus for the bid committee this week is on the presentation to the IOC membership. He said there were still a number of different options for the presentation style and content. "One of the main things the team are doing is locking themselves away and trying to get it right," he said.

On Wednesday, Coghen will take time out from her work on the presentation to conduct some interviews with international broadcasters at Casa de Campo.

Tokyo Sweats on Hatoyama

With just 11 days until the IOC vote, the Tokyo bid team remain in the dark about whether Japan’s new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Crown Prince Naruhito will make the trip to Copenhagen.

Tokyo 2016 spokesman Masa Takaya tells Around the Rings there have been no developments over the weekend. “Prime Minister Hatoyama and Royal Family have not confirmed their intention to trip to Copenhagen yet,” he said Monday. “We will keep asking for their presence in Copenhagen.”

Takaya and several other bid officials are arriving in Copenhagen on Tuesday ahead of the high-profile leaders of the team.

Hatoyama was officially confirmed as prime minister last Wednesday but it’s his new cabinet which has the authority to decide if he and the crown prince can travel to Denmark.

The Tokyo bid said today its environmental initiatives for a 2016 Games are in line with Hatoyama’s efforts to drive a reduction in global CO2 emissions by 25 percent by 2020.

Speaking following a tree-planting event in Tokyo Bay, bid CEO Ichiro Kono stressed the city’s credentials as a world leader in long-term environmental planning.

"Thanks to the Olympic Games, the world will see how to care for our planet and how sport and daily life can take place in harmony with the environment. We share Prime Minister Hatoyama and Tokyo Governor Ishihara's vision for a greener, brighter tomorrow,” Kono said.

On Wednesday, at the end of national holiday week, Tokyo 2016 is planning a big parade to showcase the support for its bid. There will be a march through the city, starting from Yoyogi Park, site of the 1964 Olympic Village, and taking in popular shopping street “Omotesando”. Athletes, Olympians, Paralympians, cheerleaders and dancers will participate.

With reporting from Mark Bisson.For general questions or comments click here