Op Ed: 2016 Tour Begins in Chicago Chill

(ATR) If there's snow in the air it must be time for the IOC to inspect cities bidding for the Summer Olympic Games.

Despite the best intentions of the IOC to conduct the visits of its Evaluation Commission when the weather is more like summer, the welcome mat will be cold and soggy in Chicago this weekend as the group begins its four-city, world-spanning sojourn.

Cold, lashing winds -- possibly with snow -- are forecast for Sunday, the day planned for the IOC venue tour.

Still, it's considerably better than four years ago, when the IOC 2012 commission began its travels in February. Members ended in Moscow in mid-March when snow drifts and ice were still part of the landscape.

And while the Chicago team might have hoped for daffodil and tulip time this weekend, they can take comfort from their experience two years ago when an evaluation commission from the U.S. Olympic Committee went to Chicago in March with sub-freezing weather and snow covering the site for the Olympic Stadium.

Chicago still got the nod over sunny Los Angeles.

The leaders of the U.S. bid may apologize for the bad weather, but the IOC commission will base its Chicago report on other factors.

The efficacy of an intown Olympic Village and other venues near the center of the city must pass the IOC test. Chicago organizers are banking on the appeal of this concept as one of the assets of their bid.

With Chicago rivals grumbling privately about what they believe is a missing financial guarantee, money experts on the IOC panel may give the bid extra scrutiny in this area. It may be up to Mayor Richard M. Daley and chairman Patrick Ryan to convince the IOC that Chicago bid's finances are rock steady. Daley's city government is offering the biggest share of the guarantee, while Ryan, an international leader in the field of insurance, must be an effective salesman to convince the IOC that the money will be there to pay for a Chicago Games.

Not part of the report from the IOC, but no less crucial to international perceptions of the U.S. bid, may be the impression left by the new leadership of the U.S. Olympic Committee. Chairman Larry Probst and acting CEO Stephanie Streeter will make their debuts to an IOC panel whose members are already well-acquainted with the NOC leaders from Brazil, Japan and Spain.

A new videotaped message from President Barack Obama will be played for the IOC delegation, certainly reminding them that Obama, a Chicago resident, could deliver more federal government backing for a U.S. Olympics than ever seen from the White House.

Although the U.S. president won’t be in Chicago, the bid will still be able to count on another world-renowned personality to cast some glamour over the IOC visit. TV star and impresario Oprah Winfrey will attend a dinner to be hosted Monday night by the bid committee.

Tokyo follows Chicago will the cherry blossoms be in bloom week after next? Rio De Janeiro and Madrid are next up on the circuit. Op Ed previews for each city, coming in the weeks ahead.

Written by Ed Hula

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