On the Scene - Bid Cities Greet IOC in Lausanne

(ATR)Leaders of bids from Annecy, Munich and PyeongChang tell Around the Rings that the just-ended briefing for IOC members was a big help for their campaigns.

The bid cities ended their two-day briefing for IOC members in Lausanne Thursday by meeting with them at exhibits for each bid set up in the Lausanne Palace Hotel. About 60 IOC members made their way to the booths to meet one-on-one with the bids for four hours, followed by visits from the several dozen media covering the IOC briefing.

"We had great informative discussions," Munich 2018 CEO Bernhard Schwank tells Around the Rings.

"My feeling is that there is a huge interest from the members in getting the information, getting deeper into the offers from these three bids," Schwank tells ATR as the day wound up in Lausanne.

Annecy 2018 chief Charles Beigbeder says the briefing allowed the bids to spend quality time with the IOC members who will cast their votes July 6.

"They are more relaxed. They have only one agenda, to learn about the selection of the Winter Olympics bid city, no conference to attend, for example," he says, referring to other stops on the 2018 campaign trail such as SportAccord or the IOC Sport and Environment conference.

"They ask many questions, look at the details. Some IOC members spent 30 minutes with us," PyeongChang 2018 chairman Yang Ho Cho tells ATR.

The three exhibits, set up in small meeting rooms, side-by-side, featured large displays of the venue plans for each bid. With touch-screen technology, the bids were able to show visitors how transport connections and venues were arranged. Munich even used 3-D video to enhance the experience, serving chewy pretzels to accompany.

IOC members remained careful in their assessments of how the three cities performed in Lausanne.

"I am impressed," South African member Sam Ramsamy tells ATR. "But it’s my style to only decide after the final presentation which city I am going to vote for. All three cities have certain advantages. The negatives are more or less equal for all three cities."

The three bids now head into the last month of the campaign with the preparationof their final presentations set for July 6 as the main project. Aside from the Association of National OlympicCommittees of Africa assembly in Togo at the end of June, there are no other big events for the bids ahead of the IOC Session in Durban, South Africa.

DSK Question Barred by IOC President

IOC President Jacques Rogge blocked Annecy from having to answer a question from a junior IOC member Wednesday during the closed door briefing by the bid cities that was inspired by the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Hicham El Geurrouj of Morocco tried to ask Annecy bid leaders what measures were in place at hotels to prevent an incident such as the one that led to the arrest of Strauss-Kahn in New York May 15.

But Rogge ruled the query inappropriate and Annecy did not get to answer.

Annecy CEO Charles Beigbeder tells ATR his team was prepared to deal with the Strauss-Kahn fiasco, but that he expected the question to be raised at a press conference, not by the IOC.

"He is French, but has nothing to do with the bid," says Beigbeder about the ex-International Monetary Fund chief who faces sexual assault charges in New York City.

Written and reported in Lausanne by Ed Hula.