Three Months to Copenhagen IOC Session, Obama Whirlwind

IOC President Jacques Rogge with Denmark’s Prince Frederik at the launch event for the IOC Session and Congress last October. The crown prince is hoping to become an IOC member (ATR/Panasonic: Lumix)IOC Session Organizers Ready Copenhagen for Obama

(ATR) Organizers of the October IOC Session and Congress tell Around the Rings they are making preparations for the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama in Copenhagen for the IOC vote on the 2016 host city.

Obama’s presence in the Danish capital to boost the Chicago 2016 bid effort has yet to be confirmed by the White House but organizers of the Olympic gathering are planning on him being there.

“We expect that we will get confirmation about one month before the event takes place,” Casper Hollerup, a spokesman for the organizing committee told ATR.

“But still we are planning that Obama will show up in order to get security set up right. We haven’t heard he is not coming.”

With three months to go to the IOC vote on the 2016 Olympic city on Oct. 2, Danish organizers this week met with IOC officials in Copenhagen to discuss preparations for Obama’s expected visit. IOC members will decide between Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

IOC member from Denmark Kai Holm told ATR a few months ago that security costs for the Session and Congress may exceed $3 million if Obama travels to the city.

“We were talking as if Obama is coming,” said Hollerup of discussions with IOC officials that focused heavily on security. “It takes the highest level of security to welcome him in Denmark and all his staff.”

Obama would be accompanied by a heavily-manned security team, including Secret Service agents. The Danish government is managing and paying for the security operation for the Olympic gathering.

ATR understands that each of the four 2016 candidate cities could bring several hundred people to Copenhagen, although many will not be accredited to enter areas such as the Bella Center, the convention complex where IOC members will cast their votes.

The IOC delegation in Copenhagen this week included Jacqueline Barrett, head of bid city relations, and head of IOC media operations Anthony Edgar.

Barrett met for the first time the four candidate city officers appointed by Danish organizers to handle the 2016 bid teams through their stay in Copenhagen.

Other issues scrutinized were transport and accommodation plans for delegates, which are now finalized. Shuttle buses and a fleet of cars will be used to transfer delegates from city center hotels to the Bella Center, which is a 10-minute car ride from the heart of Copenhagen.

The city’s management of the 1,000-plus members of the media due to cover the IOC vote was also on the agenda.

“It is going to be a tough but interesting day,” said Hollerup. “We are progressing with making a good space for media in the Bella Center.”

IOC officials also undertook venue inspections of the Bella Center, Marriott Hotel – Bella Center is the venue for the IOC vote on the 2016 city (ATR/Panasonic: Lumix)the official IOC hotel – and the Copenhagen Opera House, venue for the official opening ceremony for the 121st IOC Session and 13th Olympic Congress on Oct. 1.

Hollerup insisted all plans were on schedule for the staging of the Session and Congress. The Danish budget for staging the events was originally set at about $3.3 million. Some 450 volunteers will be involved in the Olympic meetings, which run from Oct. 1-9.

“It seems like they [IOC officials] were satisfied, absolutely,” he said. “We are quite confident, we are progressing well.”

Congress and Session Topics

About 1,000 delegates from national Olympic committees, international sports federations, TOP sponsors, TV rights-holding broadcasters and other areas of sport will participate in the Congress.

The first Olympic Congress since 1994 aims to take the pulse of the Olympic Movement. Discussions on five themes are planned from Oct. 3-5. The five themes are: An opening reception for the Olympic gathering takes place at the city center Tivoli Garden (ATR/Panasonic: Lumix)the athletes; the Olympic Games; the structure of the Olympic Movement; Olympism and youth; and the digital revolution.

The second part of the IOC Session runs from Oct. 7-9. IOC President Jacques Rogge is expected to stand unopposed for re-election; elections will also be held for new IOC members.

IOC members will also decide whether to add up to two new sports to the 2016 Olympic program. Baseball, softball, golf, karate, skating, rugby and squash are seeking to join the Olympics. The IOC Executive Board meeting in Berlin next month will narrow the field to two sports for the IOC vote.

The 121st IOC Session and 13th Olympic Congress are among more than 50 major international sports events taking place in Denmark's Year of Sport.

Copenhagen Olympic Festival

An opening reception for the IOC Session and Olympic Congress in the city’s Tivoli Garden Sept. 27 launches a series of sporting and cultural events in what is billed as the Copenhagen Olympic Festival.

Some 12,000 youngsters will take part in a School Olympics from Sept. 28-30. Countdown activities to the IOC vote on the 2016 host city are being staged in the city hall square on Oct. 1-2.

A big screen will give city residents an insight into the four cities bidding for the 2016 Games.

Hollerup said Danish organizers plan to get film footage from Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo as well as broadcasting live pictures from the candidate cities on the day of the vote. The giant video display will screen the cities’ presentations to IOC members in a feed from the Bella Center and the moment when Rogge announces the winner.

Hollerup expects 25,000 people to fill the square on the day of the vote, when a specially organized Congress Run involving around 6,000 people is also scheduled to take place.

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