Olympic Movement
Beijing. Vancouver. London. Soche. What do these four cities have in common? They are all future sites of the Olympic Games, having gone through a rigorous selection process. Beijing, China will host the Summer Games in August 2008. Two years later, Vancouver, Canada will have the Winter Games. London, England won the bid for the 2012 Olympics, while Soche, Russia got the nod for the Winter of 2014. Who will be the next city selected to host the Games? The 2016 Summer Games are up for grabs, and already plans are in motion to claim the host prize. Obviously, preparation by the Olympic Movement begins years before the Olympics actually opens. The Olympic Movement includes the International Olympics Committee (IOC), the International Federations (IFs) for each sport, the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for each country, the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (OCOG), the national clubs and the athletes.
Olympics are bid on by cities, not by countries. A prospective host city must submit an application and questionnaire to the IOC. The IOC reviews the information, determining if the city has, or can implement the infrastructure needed to host an event the magnitude of the Games. With the IOC's approval, the city becomes a candidate and is further reviewed and inspected until. A short list of candidates will be announced in June 2008, with the finalist announced the following year. Seven cities are have currently submitted an application to host the 2016 Olympics. They are: Baku, Azerbaijan; Chicago, IL; Doha, Qatar; Madrid, Spain; Prague, Czech Republic; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Tokyo, Japan. Baku, Doha and Prague are long shots. Baku lacks the transportation and accommodation infrastructure needed for the event. Doha, while more progressive, is in the Middle East, and concerns about terrorism may sway the vote. Additionally, both Baku and Doha have extremely high temperatures in the summer. Prague is considering withdrawing its bid because its government will not give financial guarantees, which are necessary to prepare for the game. Conclusion: Bronze Madrid is one of the few European countries that has never hosted an Olympics. However, with London hosting in 2012 and Soche in 2014, the chances of another European country getting the bid are slim. Rio failed to win in 2004 and 2012 due to issues of crime rates, lack of infrastructure and sports venues, however it got its chance to prove itself when it hosted the Pan Am Games in July 2007. Conclusion: Silver Tokyo and Chicago currently have the lead. Both cities promise that the venues and accommodations will be close to each other and easy to get to. Both have had experience with major events (Tokyo hosted the Olympics in 1964, and Chicago hosted FIFA World Cup games in 1994). The Olympic Movement also looks for local support for the Games. Chicago seems to have local and business support. Tokyo’s support has been lackluster, but seems to be increasing. Stay tuned: the final decision about which city will get the golden Olympic ticket will be made in October 2009.
