[Kngkyle©]

Honestly, the more I think about it, the more I can see Michelle doing a fantastic job. She will bring some much needed emotion to the often lackluster presentations that Chicago 2016 has given in the past. Rio has always had the most passionate presentations. I think a little passion and excitement is exactly what is needed for Chicago and Michelle will bring that.

[ethereal_reality]

Maybe they can take that little waterskiing squirrel. ;)

[cbotnyse]

my brother's photo was published by 2016 and will be distibuted to the IOC!

(he posts over on SSC)

Tribune special edition..wooo hooo ! I wasn't paid and was happy to donate its use. fingers crossed Oct 2nd. this is going out internationally and the IOC members will actually see it too. although I'm not referenced, thats still ok. (I did the fireworks shot, not the first one, I'm just showing the cover)

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t30/jlew24asu/2016-1.jpg

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t30/jlew24asu/2016-1-1.jpg

[Soaring_Higher]

^^^

Congratulations! Thanks for letting me post it to my blog.

[bnk]

Here is a pretty weird article



http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jSRt-OziRuHs1pPjLWSKrsmqKDaw


Chicago Olympic bid attempt shows grittiness: source

By Pirate Irwin (AFP) – 2 hours ago

PARIS — The Chicago bid team for winning the right to host the 2016 Olympics are displaying the grittiness of the Chicago Bears team that bulldozed their way to the 1985 Super Bowl title, a source close to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) told AFP.

Having looked to be losing their way just over a month ago and all the momentum seemingly with the vibrant Rio de Janeiro bid - who are in contention to become the first South American city to host the Olympics - they have fought back in some style.

First of all Larry Probst, President of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), conceded to IOC supremo Jacques Rogge that they would halt any pretensions to setting up an Olympic TV network, which had incensed IOC members.

Then last week the Chicago City council under the watchful eye of longserving Mayor Richard M. Daley agreed to underwrite any financial fallout from the Games should there be any cost overruns - a unanimous 49-0 vote - leaving Daley free to sign the obligatory 'Host City Agreement'.

The icing on the cake came on Tuesday when President Barack Obama hosted a reception for the Olympics, Paralympics and youth sport at The White House and declared in no uncertain terms his unqualified support for the city - where he was resident for nearly 25 years - to win the vote in Copenhagen on October 2.

"Chicago is ready. The American people are ready. We want these Games," opined Obama, who will not be present in Copenhagen but his wife Michelle will be to lobby IOC members.

All this has according to AFP's source led to a significant turnaround in how the bid is perceived and the all-important sense of momentum with just two weeks to go to the vote by the 100-plus IOC members.

"I am not one for citing American Football normally, especially as it is not an Olympic sport!" the source said.

"However, I see this Chicago bid team as displaying the same type of spirit and camaraderie as the Chicago Bears team that won the 1985 Super Bowl.

"They weren't pretty to watch but they sure had that determination of not being beat (they only lost one match all season, to the Miami Dolphins) and were embodied by the cheeky but tough as teak quarterback in Jim McMahon.

"Sure they had the silky skills of running back Walter Payton but they also had the battering ram of William 'The Refrigerator' Perry. It may not have been what one terms an 'All American' style of team, but they didn't give a damn. They were there for each other and winning was everything to them.

"So it is with this Chicago bid team (their leader Pat Ryan ironically is a part owner of the present Bears franchise)."

Others were not so sure.

"Obama's support has always been there and is hardly shocking. Also without the signing of the 'Host City Agreement' they might as well not have shown up in Copenhagen," another source close to the IOC told AFP.

Rio, who are seen as the main rivals to Chicago with Tokyo and Madrid struggling to make inroads although the first round vote could change all that, have been making the running but all of a sudden the wind may have gone out of their sails and the notion that taking the Games to new territory may not play so hard with their eclectic electorate.

"It will be one element that will play a role. A big one or a small one, I cannot say," said Rogge, who does not have a vote, though, he can intimate behind the scenes as to who he would prefer to win.

"The IOC members vote on a series of criteria. Firstly the fundamentals such as do we trust the people in charge of the bid, will the transport be there, how good will the Olympic Village be.

"Secondly why not go into a new territory. That would certainly be one of the aspects that will be considered."

Tokyo still believe they are in with a chance and its intellectual Governor Shintaro Ishihara believes that this is a race still wide open.

"I used to be a sailor and the clouds and the winds would forewarn how the journey would be," said the 76-year-old award-winning author, who has also written a musical version of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel Treasure Island.

"In this battle it is extremely difficult to read the waters and predict how it will turn out," added Ishihara, who is responsible for 34 million people and has been in the post since 1999.

[Kngkyle©]

^ I agree with it. For awhile Chicago had no momentum. It was all Rio. Now the tide seems to be turning.

[bnk]

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Health care and Chicago's bid

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Tom Farrey
ESPN

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Copenhagen is a stage for the beleaguered prince, not the besieged king. So for now, President Obama is taking a pass on joining his old friends from Chicago on Oct. 2 in Denmark, where the lords of the Olympic rings, as readily swayed by political celebrity as they once were by bid-city graft, will vote on which hungry (small "h") hamlet gets to throw them a multibillion-dollar party in 2016.


"I promise you, we are fired up about this," Obama said Wednesday afternoon on the South Lawn of the White House at what amounted to a pep rally for the U.S. bid to play host to the Summer Games seven years from now, which unlike the other three finalists will be without its head of state at the big International Olympic Committee meeting. "I would make the case in Copenhagen personally, if I weren't so firmly committed to making real the promise of quality, affordable health care for every American."


Too bad. Because a Chicago Olympics could do as much to reform health care in this country as anything he's arguing over with Republicans at the moment.


....

[bnk]

http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Obamas-excuses-for-copenhagen-Olympic-vote-Mystery-59726882.html

Obama's Olympic Mystery

He owns the Olympics even if he stays home

By STEVE RHODES

Updated 9:39 AM CDT, Fri, Sep 18, 2009




Why won't President Obama go to Copenhagen?

The explanations offered by the White House and the pundits are less than satisfying.

Let's take a look.

1. He's too busy with health care. This explanation fails on several levels.


First, Obama has famously - and even angrily - touted his ability to multitask. During the campaign he felt it unnecessary to come off the trail for a day and go to Washington to deal with the exploding financial crisis. He found time during the auto company bailout negotiations to travel to Nevada for a Harry Reid fundraiser. He always seems to have time for David Letterman. He's on this month's cover of Men's Health touting his workout regime.

Beyond that, Air Force One has a phone. I'm guessing it even has super-duper teleconferencing capabilities. Hell, it's Air Force One, it can probably make Obama appear as a hologram in a Senate cloak room. It's not like he'd be out of touch.

True, there would be more to going to Copenhagen than flying over, giving the pitch and returning home. He'd have to do a certain amount of preparation - and maybe even some schmoozing. But really, doesn't he already know what to say?

2. There is a political risk. This one is really baffling. Some journalistic geniuses and political strategists have advanced the notion that if Obama goes all-in, as it were, and Chicago loses the bid, there will be blowback. America's standing will be diminished because of the president's lack of influence. And the American public will like Obama less for going to Copenhagen and losing.

Huh? World leaders will not judge Obama on whether he wins the Olympics. North Korea will not resume an aggressive posture because the IOC chooses Rio. Iran will not test a nuclear missile thinking that Obama has shown weakness. Pure lunacy. And the American public - to the extent that it cares - would hardly punish Obama at the polls in three years because he couldn't land the Games for his Chicago friends.

True, an advisor like David Axelrod could see how a failed attempt would just give commentators another checkmark in the loss column when they do their traditional one-year reviews of Obama's job performance. But please. And where is the Obama who so confidently proclaimed "I'm LeBron! I can do this!" before the then-state senator gave his speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention?

3. Michelle is the best representative we have to win the Games. Nobody believes this. You lie, Mr. President.

4. Obama doesn't want to "own" the Olympics and become responsible for all the corruption that would surely follow a Chicago Games. This theory is behind the Reader's Ben Joravsky advice that the president stay home. The reasoning is that if Obama personally lands the Olympics, he'll have to answer for the inevitable cost overruns and contract scandals that would follow. (Could there be a venture this big in Chicago without indictments? Someone will go to jail, probably not alone.)

But Obama already owns the Olympics. And he's already joined at the hip with Daley. After all, those are all Daley's people in the White House.

Sure, he might be putting himself at arm's length from the Games should they land in Chicago, but he's also at-risk by not going: He's now set up as the scapegoat if Chicago does not win the Games. For the better part of a year, the message that's been hammered into us is that Obama is the X Factor. Now he has to hope that's not true.

[RobH]

Too bad. Because a Chicago Olympics could do as much to reform health care in this country as anything he's arguing over with Republicans at the moment.
....

Erm, really? :shrug:

[spyguy]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-olympics-jarrettsep19,0,3613860.story

Chicago 2016 Olympics: Barack Obama's adviser talks about strategy
By Katherine Skiba
September 19, 2009

President Barack Obama is briefed daily on Chicago's prospects for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games and next week will use meetings with foreign leaders to bolster his adopted hometown's hopes. That's the word from senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, his go-to person on the Olympics and one of eight White House staffers working to bring them to Chicago.

Jarrett, in an interview Friday in her West Wing office, called Chicago's bid "spectacular" and said Obama's upcoming meetings at the United Nations and at the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh were "two venues that present a very good opportunity for him to advocate."

Obama's emissary, First Lady Michelle Obama, will arrive in Copenhagen on Sept. 30, Jarrett said. That's two days before the Oct. 2 vote in which the 100-plus member International Olympic Committee will choose among Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro.

As the first lady's schedule is drawn up, it's all about retail politics, Jarrett said.

[the urban politician]

According to Sneed at the Sun Times, there's a rumor that Obama has changed his mind and may go to Copenhagen

[sopas ej]

I honestly think Michelle Obama will charm the IOC, but I'm wondering if they'll buy her charm.

[cbotnyse]

According to Sneed at the Sun Times, there's a rumor that Obama has changed his mind and may go to CopenhagenSneed: Obama may be headed to Copenhagen after all

Is POTUS (President of the United States) pumped? Sneed hears President Obama told a select coterie Saturday he has decided to go to Copenhagen to personally pitch Chicago’s bid for the 2016 Olympics

Word is he had yet to inform Mayor Daley and was planning to make it a surprise.

• The backshot: Will President Obama have a change of heart?

• The background: Up ‘till now, President Obama had decided to send First Lady Michelle Obama and top advisor Valerie Jarrett to pitch the city’s Olympic bid — despite advice the city wouldn’t get the Olympics unless the President himself went to Copenhagen


http://www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/1779747,obama-chicago-2016-olympic-bid-09819.article

this is an interesting claim. I wonder how good her source is.

[ethereal_reality]

And also in the Tribune's Washington Bureau.

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/09/obama_olympic_travel_eyed_adva.html

As of 3:50, there is one comment following the article and it's negative, and actually ends with GO RIO 2016.
I've tried twice to leave a positive comment and for some reason it won't go through.

[Kngkyle©]

And also in the Tribune's Washington Bureau.

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/09/obama_olympic_travel_eyed_adva.html

Awesome. If he shows up I think we got this won for sure.

[spyguy]

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/national_world&id=7022726

President 'likely' going to Copenhagen
Saturday, September 19, 2009 | 3:50 PM
By Ben Bradley

President Barack Obama has apparently changed his mind. An administration source tells ABC7 the president will "likely" accompany first lady Michelle Obama to Copenhagen to make a final push for Chicago to win the right to host the 2016 Summer Games.

The source underscored that the decision is not final and may be dependent on the status of health care reform bills in Congress. Nonetheless, it marks a dramatic departure from statements made by Mr. Obama and his advisors on Wednesday in which they downplayed the possibility of the president personally lobbying the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

[ethereal_reality]

Man, the news just keeps getting better today.

[bnk]

this is an interesting claim. I wonder how good her source is.

I am beginning to change my mind and think he will go now. It really makes little political sense to stay home unless something major happens. BTW I also think Sneeds cred is not to be taken lightly, but she has tripped up before. http://www.suntimes.com/news/sneed/bio-sneed.article

Edit.I did not read spyguys article yet. Now after reading it I am even more reassured. [ From two seperate sources I hope.].]







http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/09/daley-on-olympic-bid-very-very-confident.html


Daley on Olympic bid: 'Very, very confident'

September 19, 2009

An exuberant :5: Mayor Richard M. Daley said today that he is now confident Chicago will be selected to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

"I am very, very confident, because of the presentation, the financial package, everything that went into this huge effort of getting the international Olympics and paralympics to the city of Chicago," Daley said "I'm very confident that we're going to get this because I believe we have the best proposal."

His statements, made at an unrelated ribbon-cutting event on the Northwest Side, was a marked departure from the cautious tone Chicago's Olympic bid team has taken. They have prefaced discussions about future Olympic planning with phrases like "if we're lucky enough to get the games."

Chicago 2016 officials declined to comment.
...

[Kngkyle©]

Just need to keep this momentum going until October 2nd. Are there any more big events planned between then and now?

[Via Chicago]

An exuberant :5: Mayor Richard M. Daley said today that he is now confident Chicago will be selected to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.
...

I guess the brown envelope of cash officially arrived in Copenhagen.

[BVictor1]

I guess the brown envelope of cash officially arrived in Copenhagen.

I hope so :shrug:

If it gets things done.

[Enzo1947]

I knew he was sandbagging it. Although Daley should remain humble for 13 more days. The IOC will be loath to award the games to us if our officials exude too much "American Arrogance".

[Chicago29]

I guess the brown envelope of cash officially arrived in Copenhagen.
:D :D :D

With Obama I think our chances increase dramatically.

[Yankee]

Like mayor Daley I'm also confident the great city of Chicago will be selected and President Obama will declare the Olympics open near the end of his second term as president :D

I haven't been to any of the other candidate cities, but if you just look at our plan it is flawless - Chicago will be 100% ready to host in 2016. I was there a few months ago and man is the Olympic spirit alive in that city. I currently live in SF, but I've already arranged a college reunion with friends who scattered all over the country, to meet in Chicago in 2016 for the Olympics, stay there all summer and have an awesome time haha :D

Even if the President doesn't go we'll still get it, it's more than the right time for Chicago and the US to get the Olympics now. But he should still go just in case + that might further boost his ratings which in turn will help him pass health care, so it's a win-win. It will take 2 days to fly there, stay for a day and fly back, cmon Mr. President...

[Soaring_Higher]

These reports are very encouraging. I think it would be awesome if Barack can go and do some personal lobbying, and Michelle can speak at the presentation. The president does not need to speak in front of the IOC, but it is more important that he personally meets with them. God, I hope he goes...

I would like to encourage people to continue to email the president, and let him know that you support him going to Copenhagen!

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/


Also, become a "fan" of Chicago 2016 on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/chicago2016

[cbotnyse]

13 days to go!

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f21/cbotnyse/my%20photos/DSC_0020-4.jpg

[nomarandlee]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sun-olympics-contributors-sep20,0,890371.story

Chicago 2016: Olympics fundraising drive a game of giving or take
Some wonder what the planned $250 million effort will mean to city's charities, cultural institutions

By Melissa Harris

Tribune reporter

September 20, 2009

Chicago 2016 Chief Executive Patrick Ryan says he has been turned down only once while raising $72.8 million for the city's quest to host the Olympics -- by a man whose attitude he described as "negative" and his excuse "flimsy."

By many measures, Chicago 2016's fundraising success, coming during a recession, has been striking. Should Chicago win the race to become host city on Oct. 2, observers debate what such a major effort, raising $35 million a year for the next seven years, will mean to the city's other cultural institutions. They wonder what it will take to sustain such a high level of giving and what the long-term effect will be.

"Do I think there will be substantial new money given to the Olympics? Yes," said Harry Kraemer, former chairman and chief executive officer of Deerfield-based Baxter International Inc. and a professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. "But there's only so much money to go around, and $35 million incrementally without having an impact on other areas, that would be doubtful."

Chicago 2016 as host city would set out to raise more than $250 million from private and corporate donations. A portion of that money would come from selling post-Games naming rights for buildings, such as the proposed velodrome and aquatics center. The International Olympic Committee bans such advertising during the Games. Unlike other countries, U.S. host cities rely more heavily on corporate sponsorships.

The Civic Federation, a Chicago-based government think tank, described 2016's fundraising goal as "aggressive but doable" because it mirrors giving thus far and has been achieved previously here. The Art Institute, for instance, collected $411 million in five years for its Modern Wing, which opened in May. The city raised more than $200 million in seven years from private sources for Millennium Park.

Still, Chicago 2016's fundraising comes as the country works its way through a recession, which nationally has crimped giving, according to Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy. Specifically, the center has found a substantial year-over-year decline nationally in donations of $1 million or more.

"For the first two quarters of 2009, giving by individuals, just the number of gifts, fell in half, and the number of gifts from foundations and corporations fell by one-third," said Melissa Brown, associate director of research at the philanthropy center. "In general, it's difficult to make major gifts during a recession. It doesn't mean they don't do it; they just think about it pretty carefully."

Chicago 2016 discounts the idea that bid contributions impact donations to charities. It calculates that money given to the Games would soak up a mere 3.5 percent of about $1 billion that Chicago-area corporations and individuals give annually to charitable causes. Statewide in 2005, Brown said, more than $6.7 billion was donated to charities; she characterized as conservative the bid group's figure.

Jimmie Alford, founder of the Alford Group, an Evanston-based consulting firm for non-profits that helped raise money for the Albertville Winter Olympics in 1992 in France, said, "There's always a little bit of erosion with competition. At the same time, I have not heard a single person say they couldn't give to something because they were giving to the Olympics. ... I think many people feel the Olympics will create jobs and commerce, so they look at it as an investment."

Investment banker Dick Kiphart said he doesn't find the fundraising goals "disturbing." Kiphart is chairman of the Lyric Opera and the Erikson Institute, a graduate school for child development, and sits on the board of Children's Memorial Hospital. His donations, such as to U2 singer Bono's efforts in Africa, are in the millions.

As for Chicago's bid, Kiphart said, "I think everyone knows they need to do something additional for this."

However, Chicago's bid must be mindful that a scandal, cost overruns or a deepening recession could crash even the best fundraising plans, said Claire Gaudiani, a professor of philanthropy and fundraising at New York University and former president of Connecticut College.

"You have to make sure the name 'Chicago' will not be tarnished by anything I do, you do, the cement guy or, frankly, people trying to get the bid do," Gaudiani said.

Donors have said they have given to the bid effort out of civic pride, because they believe the Games will be good for business and because of their relationship with Ryan...................


MORE IN LINK

[Frankie]

Obama Olympic travel eyed: Advance

Posted September 19, 2009 3:05 PM
by Christi Parsons

President Obama is dispatching an advance team to Copenhagen to pave the way for a possible personal appearance before the Olympic committee next month.

The decision doesn't necessarily mean Obama will be able to make an in-person appeal for his adopted hometown of Chicago, which is bidding to to host the Olympics in 2016, a senior advisor to the president said this afternoon.

But the president wants to make sure he has the option to go, in case he can get away from the health care discussions to make the trip.

Before any presidential trip, the White House advance teams need time to size up the security situation and make arrangements for accomodations -- even for travel the president doesn't end up undertaking. The advance team will travel Monday.

"He wants to preserve his options," the advisor said in an interview today.

Ten days ago, Obama told Chicago Mayor Richard Daley that he might not be able to get away, because of the ongoing effort to pass a health care bill. But Obama still hopes to make the trip if he can do so without jeopardizing the reform bill, aides say.

Whatever happens, First Lady Michelle Obama will still go and make the case for her hometown to host the games.

The White House considers her a persuasive salesperson.

"She is regarded as an essential strength of the strategy, because she was born and raised in Chicago and her life story embodies the Olympic spirit," the Obama advisor said.

Chicago is competing with Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro to host the Olympics. The 100-plus member International Olympic Committee will vote on a winner early next month.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/09/obama_olympic_travel_eyed_adva.html

[bnk]

I think there just was a 1/2 hour local show on fox called "the Road to the Olympics", narrated by Bill Curtis? Did anyone see it? I was watching the Bears. Perhaps it could be posted on youtube to see it again.

Hell it is still playing past 5pm check it out.


Edit

Ahh crap its over I missed it. It looked really professional.

[Soaring_Higher]

Some speculation through the Chicago 2016 grapevine is that Mayor Daley was given some sort of assurance that Obama will be there on October 2nd unless something changes with the health insurance reform "timeline" (meaning that it doesn't have to pass by October 2nd, but if Congress votes on October 1st or 2nd, which currently doesn't look probable.

Michelle Obama will be there on September 30th lobbying until the final presentation on October 2nd, and possibly both of them will be speaking before the IOC.

We shall see.

[F1 Tommy]

I wonder if he has planned on going all along. If so he is really playing the media to maximum effect!! Moving the rocket launcher plans off the table also gained some more eastern European/Russian support im sure. I think we are going to win this one.

[Kngkyle©]

Unless the health care bill is going up for vote on that thursday or friday, he will probably go to Copenhagen. Chances are the bill won't be ready by then, but in case it is he needs to have the flexibility to stay if need be. Which is why he can't commit to going until he knows for sure.

[JDRCRASH]

I can't believe it's less than 2 weeks away.:)

[AdrianXSands]

when chicago isn't chosen will you guys be surprised? or what will the reaction be? it seems like a lot of you are really emotionally invested in this...



if for some fat chance chicago is chosen, i'll be dumbfounded



and btw, where does all this money we've wasted on this whole campaign come from?

[ardecila]

and btw, where does all this money we've wasted on this whole campaign come from?

Haven't you heard all the news reports about the $80-something million that Chicago 2016 has raised? All the money spent thus far has been donated by wealthy individuals and the business community.

[left of center]

when chicago isn't chosen will you guys be surprised? or what will the reaction be? it seems like a lot of you are really emotionally invested in this...



if for some fat chance chicago is chosen, i'll be dumbfounded



and btw, where does all this money we've wasted on this whole campaign come from?

Haven't you heard all the news reports about the $80-something million that Chicago 2016 has raised? All the money spent thus far has been donated by wealthy individuals and the business community.



if you were as emotionally invested as we are, then you wouldn't be asking all such silly questions. ;)

[Nowhereman1280]

^^^ You see, he is about as emotionally invested as the rest of us, but in the opposite direction. From what I gather about his opinions, the Olympics is the last thing he wants in Chicago. The Olympics will probably bring lots of horribly un-human scaled buildings and unleash the pomo hordes on the South Side... Who knows, maybe it will cause a skyscraper to be built next to a 10 story building!

I'm going to lulz hardcore if we win this...

[Soaring_Higher]

I came across this stupid website today... http://chicagoansforrio.com/

[Taft]

when chicago isn't chosen will you guys be surprised? or what will the reaction be? it seems like a lot of you are really emotionally invested in this...



if for some fat chance chicago is chosen, i'll be dumbfounded



and btw, where does all this money we've wasted on this whole campaign come from?

Could you be more arrogant? I mean, we all have opinions and we all like to think we know what is going on. But you seem to have the "I know how it is and the rest of you fools are kidding yourselves" routine down pat. It is quite tiresome...

So are you trolling for reactions? Or are you really this needlessly confrontational in real life?

[emathias]

... and unleash the pomo hordes on the South Side...


In the font i'm using, that looks a lot like, "porno hordes" ...

[Dr. Taco]

lol, that chicago for rio website is actually pretty funny. i give it props for being somewhat clever

[the urban politician]

Jarrett hints Obama likely to attend IOC meet (http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?page_id=2308&plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a1daca073-2eab-468e-9f19-ec177090a35cPost%3a17036ecb-70be-406c-91ef-18472538b67b&sid=sitelife.chicagobusiness.com)
Posted by Greg H. at 9/21/2009 3:04 PM CDT on Chicago Business

President Barack Obama personally gave the order to send a White House advance team to Copenhagen and would "love" to be there himself next week to argue Chicago's case for the 2016 Olympics.

That's the word from key presidential aide Valerie Jarrett in the latest and perhaps strongest sign that last week's suggestion that Obama would skip Copenhagen has changed.

[Chicago3rd]

I wanted it. Was cautious....then when the left out the Rail Component I flipped to against it.

Now that we are in the middle of the worst recession in my life time....I want the games again. There will be jobs and it will give our civic pride a big boost.

But...if we don't get it...heck we are trained to live with not getting things...just look at the cubs and bears.

[Nowhereman1280]

^^^ Seriously? Have you not been listening to how capital spending for US Olympics works? They don't announce anything until after the Olympics are officially awarded to an American city. It specifically said that in the Bid Book. It has been rehashed a million times on here. There was no "dropped rail component" for you to get upset about since no American cities ever include specific plans for infrastructure upgrades in the bid books since that's just not how it works.

Btw, I have heard rumors of several potential rail or light rail expansion that would be included with the plan. For example, there is a "transitway" that is supposed to start at the red line and terminate at Northerly Island. I've hear that might be a Light Rail or BRT route which would act to ferry people from the Red/green Lines to McCormick Place and the Museum Campus.

-------

I think I see Obama's plan. He's going to start with pretending he's not going at all, and then gradually make his attendance more and more likely to gradually build the excitement in the minds of the IOC members. Teasing them a little might just be a good strategy to get them excited for his presence.

[Steely Dan]

^ yep, you gotta build up the hype with suspense. it's the first rule of show business.

[BVictor1]

I wanted it. Was cautious....then when the left out the Rail Component I flipped to against it.

Now that we are in the middle of the worst recession in my life time....I want the games again. There will be jobs and it will give our civic pride a big boost.

But...if we don't get it...heck we are trained to live with not getting things...just look at the cubs and bears.

Like Nowhereman1280 stated, there was never a rail component dropped, because it was never there.
But i think that you must remember that there are plans to extend the orange line from Midway to Ford City, the yellow line from Skokie to Old Orchard and the red line from 95th to 130th. The Central Area Action Plan was just apporved and it recommends building a red line spur from about Division that would serve the old Montgomery Ward complex and the west loop and reconnect into the main line at Chinatown.

You have to think about the big picture.

[bnk]

I wish Daley would just shut the hell up now and stay contrite. Someone needs to gag him. Enough already... Keep your mouth shut and let the Obamas work their magic.




http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2009/09/daley-getting-more-confident-chicago-will-win-olympics.html

September 21, 2009.

Daley 'getting more confident' Chicago will win Olympics

Posted by Dan P. Blake at 3:45 p.m.

Mayor Richard Daley today said he was "getting more confident" that Chicago will be chosen host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics when international officials vote in two weeks.

The mayor said he thought Chicago's main competition would be Rio de Janeiro because the other two cities competing – Tokyo and Madrid – are near Olympic sites in other countries. The 2008 Olympics were in China and the 2012 Games will be in London.

Daley added that Chicago may have the edge over Rio because that city will play host to soccer's World Cup in 2014.


"Our competition comes in Rio de Janeiro…I'm getting more confident because they're getting the 2014 (World Cup)," the mayor told reporters at the opening of a new school on the South Side.
"I'm much more confident in our presentation, I'm much more confident in our sponsorship, I'm much more confident that we have all the facts and figures," Daley said.

...










side note.

photo in link from 2007

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Village at dusk | November 10th by SFUVancouver

http://img127.imageshack.us/img127/2254/olympicvillagenov102007wz8.jpg

[JDRCRASH]

Daley added that Chicago may have the edge over Rio because that city will play host to soccer's World Cup in 2014.

Except South America hasn't held the Summer Olympics, which may counter that.

"Our competition comes in Rio de Janeiro…I'm getting more confident because they're getting the 2014 (World Cup)," the mayor told reporters at the opening of a new school on the South Side.
"I'm much more confident in our presentation, I'm much more confident in our sponsorship, I'm much more confident that we have all the facts and figures," Daley said.

...

It's not a matter of whether your confident, Daley, sir. It's a matter if your overconfident.

[Brandon716]

I think there is a good chance South America will see its first time hosting the Olympics. Vancouver is being held in just a few month's time, and its hurt chances for another North American location being chosen for now. But I've started paying attention to the Olympic bids now that its down on the wire.

With this being said, I wish Chicago luck!

[JDRCRASH]

Yeah, it's probably gonna be close.

[bnk]

Olympics' impact on Atlanta still subject to debate

1996 Summer Games enhanced city's global reputation, but some see few benefits

ATLANTA - -- On hot days, children frolic in the cooling waters of the Fountain of Rings at Centennial Olympic Park.

At night, the fountain transforms into an illuminating spectacle of synchronized lights and water jetting 15 to 35 feet in the air to the sounds of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" or "Under the Sea" from "The Little Mermaid."

The fountain is the centerpiece of Atlanta's finest public park -- a $57 million gift to the city after the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

"Atlanta benefited more than any other city in the history of the Olympics," said A.D. Frazier, the chief operating officer for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. "Afterward, we had no debt and we left behind a legacy of privately funded structures the city would not have seen otherwise."

Winning the Olympic bid catapulted Atlanta into the big leagues, giving it name recognition around the globe. Atlanta's $1.7 billion private-funded investment in hosting the games helped revitalize its sluggish downtown and poured $5 billion into the metropolitan area's economy during the next decade, according to the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

Atlanta's cost was less than half of the $4.8 billion Chicago has estimated it will need to raise if the city is awarded the 2016 Olympic Games.

According to Billy Payne, the Atlanta businessman who spearheaded the city's bid, the greatest gift was not the economic benefits but the pride that still lingers from having hosted the Olympics.

"Winning the games is the most uplifting, prideful, beat-on-your-chest moment Atlantans ever experienced," said Payne, whose bronze statue stands in Centennial Park. "If you win a Super Bowl and a World Series and multiply it by 100, that is the passion and pride you feel about the opportunity to welcome the world to your community."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-olympics-atlanta-21-sep21,0,2542212.story?page=2.

[Chicago29]

Inside the Bid
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/special_segments&id=7025873
No one disputes there's great cycling in Wisconsin, but&

"Being an Olympian, I want to be amongst all the other Olympians at the Olympic Village," said Christian Vande Velde, Olympic cyclist.

Olympic medalist Christian Vande Velde and his dad - who also medaled in the Games - are among a group hoping to convince planners to re-locate the cycling course to the southwest suburbs.

"We would have 3 million people watching the sport of cycling for the men's and women's road race in comparison to a couple hundred thousand up in Madison," said John Vande Velde, Olympian.

If Chicago gets the games, when do venues have to become official? I would prefer events outside Chicago to at least be close to Chicago.

[bnk]

www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/chi-tue-greising-olympics-insurasep22,0,7701500.column


Chicago 2016: Agility key in insuring Olympics

Executives looked at insurance coverage for every conceivable disaster, but must remain flexible

David Greising

September 22, 2009

Look closely at Chicago's Olympics bid and it is clear there is a big difference between assurance and insurance, and without insurance, all the assurances in the world would not make a difference.

...


Insurance does not dwell in suppositions and debates. It dwells in the world of carefully constructed codicils and unanticipated eventualities. The person who fails to anticipate the eventualities will, no doubt, get tripped up by one of the exclusionary codicils.

In this world where syntax can be the difference between profit and disaster, Chicago 2016 Chairman Patrick Ryan has traveled almost without peer.

To a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. To a former insurance executive with an Olympics to sell, insurance became the tool to close the deal.

Because Ryan spent his career at Aon Corp., a company whose main line of business is constructing custom-tailored policies that match exotic risks with creative protections, he naturally came to a view that insurance could answer all questions about the risks of a Chicago Games.

Now that we know the answer, it is time to focus on the key question: Is Chicago 2016 buying enough and the right kind of insurance to guard against all conceivable risks of a Chicago Olympics?

After studying the policies put forward by Chicago 2016 and taking into account the statements by critics, experts, insurance veterans and Olympics officials, the answer begins to emerge. Chicago 2016 seems to have guarded against nearly every risk that comes to mind -- at least today.

...

Chicago 2016 will buy $1.2 billion in key coverage. In response to public concerns, the bid committee at the last minute changed the way the insurance is staged. The bid committee now is committed to a plan by which Olympics organizers would have to burn through a $450 million budgeted surplus, plus $1 billion in insurance payments, before tapping into taxpayer guarantees.

The coverage they lay out buttresses backstop against backstop with an eye toward the buck stopping somewhere other than Chicago should events go terribly badly. ...

But they have invented one new kind of protection -- capital replacement insurance -- specifically in response to the disaster that occurred in Vancouver, where Olympics officials burned through more than $200 million after their key Olympic Village developer could no longer pay its bills.

Should a developer of Chicago's Olympic Village go belly up, an insurance policy would replace the investment funds the developer was obligated to produce.

The final $500 million of coverage, a so-called "all-risk clash policy," goes into effect only in 2016 and would pay off only under extreme circumstances, such as the cancellation of the games.

A few days ago, a group of Chicago 2016 executives methodically answered questions about coverage put to them by a team of Tribune reporters. Terrorism? we wondered. Covered. Plague? Covered. A major boycott? Covered. Hurricane off Lake Michigan? Covered.

Try as we might, we failed to come up with a major insurable risk for which there was not some sort of coverage.

"The insurance industry is a pretty innovative industry. If we can make it better, we will make it better," said David Bolger, chief financial officer of Chicago 2016 and a former top Aon executive.

...

[Soaring_Higher]

Inside the Bid
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/special_segments&id=7025873


If Chicago gets the games, when do venues have to become official? I would prefer events outside Chicago to at least be close to Chicago.

It is true that Chicago does not have to abide by its original plans during the bid process, and I think they have at least a few years to make final decisions on venues. From what I understand, London still has not firmed up all of their venues for 2012 yet, but most are well on their way (like the stadium).

I would prefer cycling to be in the SW burbs myself as that is the area were I grew up, but I don't foresee them moving mountain biking out of Madison, and most likely cycling will remain up there as well. It would make coordination easier to have another city/state help carry the load.

[chgoflip2016]

Chicagoans split over Olympic bid
By Judy Keen, USA TODAY

CHICAGO — A giant banner hanging from the Michigan Avenue bridge invites people to "imagine" hosting the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. Bus riders hear recordings of former Olympians extolling the Games' benefits. On the South Side, signs advertise "cheap" property for sale "near proposed Olympic village."

VIDEO: See proposed venue locations, citizen reaction (http://www.usatoday.com/news/video/player.htm?maven_playerId=immersiveproduction&maven_referralPlaylistId=2099847ae09d7376bc77375c17a6e7bead6b6816&maven_referralObject=1269361802)

Chicago is anticipating an Oct. 2 vote by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Copenhagen on the site of the 2016 Games. It's competing with Rio de Janeiro, Madrid and Tokyo.

As the vote nears, Chicago is still debating whether the prestige is worth the cost and disruption.

President Obama, Mayor Richard Daley, the City Council and the corporate and civic leaders who back the Olympic bid say yes. "This is a great opportunity, and it would not be in the best interests of the city not to take full advantage" of it, says Lori Healey, president of Chicago 2016, the bid committee.

Small but outspoken groups of opponents say no. The city is "broke, corrupt, incompetent and crumbling," says Tom Tresser, an organizer with the volunteer group No Games Chicago. "The people don't want this party."

A poll this month by the Chicago Tribune found a split: 47% support the Olympic plan, and 45% oppose it.

Chicago 2016 says the estimated $4.8 billion cost would come from donors, corporate sponsors, tickets and TV rights. It has more than $1 billion in insurance and $750 million in city and state pledges to cover overruns.

The City Council voted unanimously this month to take full financial responsibility. In the Tribune poll, taken before that vote, 84% of Chicagoans opposed the move.

Rumors and questions

The stadium and aquatic venues would be built in 380-acre Washington Park. Cecilia Butler, who lives three blocks away and is president of the neighborhood council, says the Games would revitalize the low-income area. She has heard rumors that people will be forced from their homes, residents won't get jobs, and the park will be ruined.

All false, she says, but "for some reason people do not want to believe this is an opportunity." The Games would not displace any homes, Butler says, and "there will be jobs." The 80,000-seat stadium would be reconfigured afterward to hold up to 3,500 people and would stay in the park, as would one pool.

Questions remain:

• If Obama does not go to Copenhagen for the vote, will it hurt Chicago's chances?

Royalty and heads of state will represent other finalists; Michelle Obama leads the U.S. delegation. The president said she is "a more compelling superstar."

• Are the financial projections realistic?

A study done for Chicago 2016 said the Games would generate $13.7 billion in economic activity in the city from 2011 to 2021. A study of the economic benefits of the 2000 Sydney Olympics found only modest annual gains of 0.25% in the six years before and six years after its Games.

Bob Quellos, a No Games co-founder, says the city has a history of busting budgets. "If we get the Games, it will bankrupt Chicago," he says.

• Why raze a landmark?

The Gropius in Chicago Coalition hopes to stop the demolition of eight buildings on the 37-acre campus of closed, city-owned Michael Reese Hospital. The buildings were designed in the 1940s by Walter Gropius, a founder of the Bauhaus school of architecture. The Olympic Village would be on the site.

Spokesman Graham Balkany says the coalition is seeking national historic status for the buildings, but it won't come before Oct. 2. "We're hoping people will come to their senses," he says.

• How does Chicago stack up?

An IOC evaluation this month said transportation would be a "major challenge." The report noted low public support in Tokyo, organizational issues in Madrid and "public safety challenges" in Rio.

Some ambivalent

People here have mixed feelings. "Imagine the world exposure," says retiree May Berry, 69. "It would be really good for the city as long as it doesn't cost us any money."

Jim Stack, 54, a computer programmer, says hosting the Games would be "kind of cool," but he worries about traffic and displacing residents.

Cab driver Abera Turee, 36, says it would "put the city on the map. ... What the city would spend is not worse than what we would get."

Healey says Chicago 2016 has a solid plan and the city's beauty and diversity are the bid's greatest assets. Still, she says, "We are competing against three other world-class cities."

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Link to Article: http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2009-09-20-chicago-olympics_N.htm

[Yankee]

T - 10 days! I can't wait I'm so excited! We'll get the Olympics folks, however you look at it our bid excels well beyond what the other cities have to offer and the current geopolitical situation favors us as well!

I have sort of a dumb question, but does anyone know if it's possible to register as a volunteer and help the bid (or soon the preparation process) from a distance in any way, if you're not actually in the city...? I currently live in SF, but I love Chicago and I'd love to help in whatever way I can... so does anyone know if it's possible to volunteer from a distance - do they have nationwide opportunities for people not living in Chicago? Obviously the whole country will have to get ready and help out, so there must be something and some way to aid Chicago from here, but I wasn't sure if they offered any of those opportunities to volunteers, so I didn't wanna go through the whole registering process only to find out I couldn't really do anything...

Thanks.

Also, is there anyone here who's currently a working volunteer? Care to share what you do and any interesting experiences?

[cbotnyse]

T - 10 days! I can't wait I'm so excited! We'll get the Olympics folks, however you look at it our bid excels well beyond what the other cities have to offer and the current geopolitical situation favors us as well!

I have sort of a dumb question, but does anyone know if it's possible to register as a volunteer and help the bid (or soon the preparation process) from a distance in any way, if you're not actually in the city...? I currently live in SF, but I love Chicago and I'd love to help in whatever way I can... so does anyone know if it's possible to volunteer from a distance - do they have nationwide opportunities for people not living in Chicago? Obviously the whole country will have to get ready and help out, so there must be something and some way to aid Chicago from here, but I wasn't sure if they offered any of those opportunities to volunteers, so I didn't wanna go through the whole registering process only to find out I couldn't really do anything...

Thanks.

Also, is there anyone here who's currently a working volunteer? Care to share what you do and any interesting experiences?not sure what you could do, but sign up anyway! http://www.chicago2016.org/volunteer.aspx

I've been a volunteer since the the bid was announced. I've worked parades, handing out water at races, and done some photography work. its been fun.

[bnk]

http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8642795

Olympics: Obama at the Center of Another Election

Windy City? Second City? With Obama push, Chicago goes for new nickname: Home of 2016 Olympics

By NANCY ARMOUR
The Associated Press
CHICAGO



The crowd at President Barack Obama's victory rally stretched from one end of Grant Park to the other, spilling onto nearby sidewalks and streets. From Oprah Winfrey to blue-collar workers, downtown pulsed with elation and electricity.

Almost a year after he won the presidential election, Obama is at the center of another potentially transformative vote — one that could change his old neighborhood forever.

Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics doesn't have a gleaming architectural masterpiece like the Bird's Nest in Beijing. Its maps showing how very close athletes will be to their venues are impressive, but not exactly sexy.

What Chicago does have is Obama, a charismatic and well-regarded figure internationally whose house (his permanent one, not the one where he currently lives) is a short walk from the planned Olympic stadium.

Obama is still deciding whether to travel to Denmark ahead of the International Olympic Committee's Oct. 2 vote to award the 2016 Games. In the meantime, he's working the phones and sending letters to IOC members in support of his adopted hometown. He's also sending his wife, Michelle, one of the few people to rival her husband's popularity, to Copenhagen along with top adviser and fellow Chicagoan Valerie Jarrett.

But it's the possibility of Obama's presence that looms largest over the all-important vote.

"He's a fabulous ambassador for the United States and his own city," said Dick Pound, a longtime IOC member from Canada. "He's a transformational figure in the world today. The fact that he would be there and you could meet him and then he'd get up and say, 'I'm here to say the United States of America is behind these games,' it's a big difference."

Maybe all the difference.

Rio de Janeiro is considered a slight favorite over Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo, with some IOC members enticed by the idea of taking the Olympics to South America for the first time. But the race is so tight the winner likely will be decided by only a couple of votes, and heads of state have been instrumental in recent decisions.

"I always believed that it's to our advantage to have the president there because he's so highly esteemed," Chicago 2016 chairman Patrick Ryan said. "But I also believe that most IOC members, before they go into the room to vote, know who they're going to vote for."

News on Tuesday that federal officials have issued security bulletins to police around the nation about terrorists' desire to attack stadiums, entertainment complexes and hotels is expected to have little, if any, impact. Security issues are hardly unique to the United States, and the Salt Lake City Games were staged less than six months after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Despite being the nation's third-largest city, Chicago was considered a longshot simply to win approval from the U.S. Olympic Committee to bid for the 2016 Games. It's not an international destination like Los Angeles, the other finalist in the U.S. race, and many overseas know little about it. Or if they do, it's straight out of "The Untouchables" or Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle."

But Chicago's organizers put together a team of Olympic veterans, using their knowledge and experience to create a plan that has few obvious flaws. And, at $4.8 billion, it carries the lowest price tag of any of the four cities.

"I think this is potentially the best bid we've ever put together," said Stephanie Streeter, acting CEO of the USOC.

Chicago's strength lies in its simplicity, a compact plan that keeps athletes close to their venues and won't saddle residents with pricey arenas that are of little use once the games are finished.

Most of the 31 venues are clustered downtown along picturesque Lake Michigan, putting 90 percent of the athletes within 15 minutes of their competition sites. On a recent Saturday afternoon, the ride from the stadium site to the village took just seven minutes — without the benefit of Olympic traffic lanes.

"For athletes, that is a huge thing," said Bart Conner, a Chicago native who won two gold medals in gymnastics at the 1984 Olympics. "I know every city is going to say, 'We're an athlete-centered bid.' But Chicago, they considered the athletes from the get-go."

Fans, too. It's only a short walk from many venues to the city's top restaurants, shops and hotels. If fans tire of sporting events, they can wander through Millennium Park or the city's Museum Campus, home to the Field Museum, Adler Planetarium and Shedd Aquarium.

"We have made the city the icon instead of a particular venue," said Doug Arnot, Chicago 2016's operations chief. "It's the whole backdrop: the lake, the parks, the skyline, having green and water around the venues as opposed to concrete."

Overblown budgets are as much a part of the Olympics as the five rings, but Chicago organizers insist their plan protects against that. By using park space and existing or temporary venues, they are limiting the massive construction projects that are the main culprit for overruns. Fifteen venues already exist, nine will be temporary and another six will be scaled down after the games.

This includes the Olympic stadium, which will become an amphitheater-like space with 2,500 to 3,500 seats that could be expanded again to host, say, an international track meet.

The Olympic village is priced at $1 billion, though developers will essentially pay that bill. The site, a shuttered hospital, is considered key to reviving a disadvantaged neighborhood on the near South Side, and will be built regardless of whether Chicago gets the games.

Chicago organizers also worked closely with the international sports federations so venues could be changed before final plans were submitted to the IOC, not after the Oct. 2 decision. Cycling, for example, was moved to Madison, Wis., because the initial road course in suburban Chicago was considered too easy.

The knocks on Chicago's bid are largely out of organizers' control.

The USOC had a messy shakeup in March, and turnover there has been a longtime annoyance to the IOC. The USOC didn't help matters when it announced plans for its own television network, putting it in competition with NBC — which just happens to provide the IOC with its largest chunk of revenue through a $2.2 billion deal to broadcast the 2010 and 2012 Olympics.

The USOC backed down, and chairman Larry Probst also brokered a truce over the United States' share of Olympic revenues. IOC president Jacques Rogge has said the issues won't affect Chicago's bid, but the tensions could be a factor for some members.

Of course, all of that could be forgotten if Obama goes to Copenhagen.

"I believe we have an historic opportunity to do great things together," Obama wrote in a letter sent to IOC members, "and I look forward to discussing that opportunity with you, if not in Copenhagen, then soon thereafter if Chicago is your choice."

[bnk]

http://www.kplr11.com/news/sns-ap-oly-chicago-2016-obama-letter,0,2742372.story?track=rss


President Obama sends letters to IOC members promising 'spectacular' 2016 Olympics in Chicago

STEPHEN WILSON AP Sports Writer
2:13 PM CDT, September 22, 2009


LONDON (AP) — President Barack Obama has written to International Olympic Committee members promising the United States would "welcome the world with open arms" if Chicago is awarded the 2016 Summer Games.

"The City of Chicago is designed to host global celebrations and it will deliver a spectacular Olympic experience for one and all," Obama said in a letter to IOC members that was obtained by The Associated Press.

The 338-word typed form letter, dated Sept. 10, is addressed to individual members and bears the signature of the president. It raises the possibility of Obama going to Copenhagen to push the Chicago bid at the Oct. 2 vote.

Chicago — seeking to host the Summer Olympics in the United States for the first time since 1996 — is in a tight contest with Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Madrid.

"I deeply appreciate the tremendous work of the Olympic Movement and wish to convey my strong support for Chicago 2016," Obama said in the letter, citing the "transformative power" of the Olympics to unite people.

Obama, who served as a senator from Illinois and calls Chicago home, said he has supported the city's Olympic bid since it was launched in 2006.

"As President, I see the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games as an extraordinary opportunity for America to renew our bonds of friendship and welcome the world to our shores with open arms," he said. "If you honor Chicago with your selection, we will ensure that the Olympic and Paralympic Games are a key priority for our nation."

Obama noted that he has already established a White House office of Olympic and youth sport.

"You can count on our government to support Chicago's quest to host an unforgettable event and strengthen the Olympic movement," he said. "I believe we have an historic opportunity to do great things together, and I look forward to discussing that opportunity with you, if not in Copenhagen, then soon thereafter if Chicago is your choice."

The letter is dated a day before the White House announced that Obama was unable to commit to going to Copenhagen because of the health care debate, and that he was sending first lady Michelle Obama to lead the Chicago delegation.

Since then, the White House has left open the possibility that Obama will make a last-minute decision to join his wife in Copenhagen. An advance White House team has traveled to the Danish capital to make preparations for a possible presidential trip.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Spanish King Juan Carlos have said they will be in Copenhagen for the vote. Tokyo's bid organizers are urging new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to attend.

...

[ChiMack]

not chicago but rio

Brazilian president gives preview of Olympic pitch

September 22, 2009 3:56 PM | No Comments
It has great beaches, it doesn't have terrorists, and according to Forbes, it is the happiest city in the world, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said today in a passionate -- and at times defensive -- explanation for why Rio de Janeiro should win the 2016 Olympics over Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo.

Silva, who travels to Copenhagen next week to wage the final battle in his country's effort to host the Games, offered a hint at Brazil's game plan during a news conference at which he made clear the Olympics, and only the Olympics, were on his mind.

"I believe he's advocating for Chicago," Lula joked about a reporter who tried without luck to steer the conversation away from Rio and toward political turmoil in Honduras.
Silva was in New York for the United Nations' General Assembly.

Unlike President Obama, who has said he may be too busy with the health care debate, Silva has committed to making a trip to Copenhagen to lobby for Rio on Oct. 2. The Brazilian leader suggested Obama's absence could hurt the U.S. bid but conceded that the decision was no doubt based on Obama's busy schedule.

"I...respect all the decisions made by each leader," he said.

Silva said he had planned for the past two years to go to Copenhagen and had studied London's strategy when it won the 2012 Games. A last-minute trip by then-Prime Minister Tony Blair to Singapore to lobby for London was credited with helping tip the scale in Britain's favor.

He said Rio's team will fight to win over the votes from whichever city finishes last in the first round of balloting. Often, the process goes to four rounds of voting until a winning city emerges.

"Rio needs to have its first opportunity," Silva said, portraying the teeming city -- famed for everything from sparkling beaches and to sprawling slums -- as needing the Games more than others. Not only would the nod solve South America's never having hosted a Games, it would give the country's impoverished masses hope for their country and their own futures, he said.

"It's not a competition that can be only for the rich or high-society," Silva added, dismissing suggestions that Rio's notorious crime could work against it.

In a stab at the United States and perhaps Europe, Silva said, "Brazil is one of the few countries in the world where you don't have terrorist attacks."

He noted that Brazil has experience putting on successful sporting events - it hosted the Pan-American Games in 2007 - and said its hosting of the 2014 soccer World Cup means it will have the stadiums and much of the other modern infrastructure in place to manage the Olympics.

When it comes right down to it, though, Rio is simply prettier than the rest, Silva said, and it offers much more than just Carnival and Samba.

"We have the most beautiful beaches in the world, so all the athletes can rest and take a dive in the sea," he said, while hastening to add that the other contenders have their own charms.
But, he added, "I do believe Rio is much more attractive than the other cities."

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/09/brazilian-president-gives-preview-of-olympic-pitch.html

[F1 Tommy]

http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=8642795

Olympics: Obama at the Center of Another Election

Windy City? Second City? With Obama push, Chicago goes for new nickname: Home of 2016 Olympics

By NANCY ARMOUR
The Associated Press
CHICAGO



The crowd at President Barack Obama's victory rally stretched from one end of Grant Park to the other, spilling onto nearby sidewalks and streets. From Oprah Winfrey to blue-collar workers, downtown pulsed with elation and electricity.

Almost a year after he won the presidential election, Obama is at the center of another potentially transformative vote — one that could change his old neighborhood forever.

Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics doesn't have a gleaming architectural masterpiece like the Bird's Nest in Beijing. Its maps showing how very close athletes will be to their venues are impressive, but not exactly sexy.

What Chicago does have is Obama, a charismatic and well-regarded figure internationally whose house (his permanent one, not the one where he currently lives) is a short walk from the planned Olympic stadium.

Obama is still deciding whether to travel to Denmark ahead of the International Olympic Committee's Oct. 2 vote to award the 2016 Games. In the meantime, he's working the phones and sending letters to IOC members in support of his adopted hometown. He's also sending his wife, Michelle, one of the few people to rival her husband's popularity, to Copenhagen along with top adviser and fellow Chicagoan Valerie Jarrett.

But it's the possibility of Obama's presence that looms largest over the all-important vote.

"He's a fabulous ambassador for the United States and his own city," said Dick Pound, a longtime IOC member from Canada. "He's a transformational figure in the world today. The fact that he would be there and you could meet him and then he'd get up and say, 'I'm here to say the United States of America is behind these games,' it's a big difference."

Maybe all the difference.

Rio de Janeiro is considered a slight favorite over Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo, with some IOC members enticed by the idea of taking the Olympics to South America for the first time. But the race is so tight the winner likely will be decided by only a couple of votes, and heads of state have been instrumental in recent decisions.

"I always believed that it's to our advantage to have the president there because he's so highly esteemed," Chicago 2016 chairman Patrick Ryan said. "But I also believe that most IOC members, before they go into the room to vote, know who they're going to vote for."

News on Tuesday that federal officials have issued security bulletins to police around the nation about terrorists' desire to attack stadiums, entertainment complexes and hotels is expected to have little, if any, impact. Security issues are hardly unique to the United States, and the Salt Lake City Games were staged less than six months after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Despite being the nation's third-largest city, Chicago was considered a longshot simply to win approval from the U.S. Olympic Committee to bid for the 2016 Games. It's not an international destination like Los Angeles, the other finalist in the U.S. race, and many overseas know little about it. Or if they do, it's straight out of "The Untouchables" or Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle."

But Chicago's organizers put together a team of Olympic veterans, using their knowledge and experience to create a plan that has few obvious flaws. And, at $4.8 billion, it carries the lowest price tag of any of the four cities.

"I think this is potentially the best bid we've ever put together," said Stephanie Streeter, acting CEO of the USOC.

Chicago's strength lies in its simplicity, a compact plan that keeps athletes close to their venues and won't saddle residents with pricey arenas that are of little use once the games are finished.

Most of the 31 venues are clustered downtown along picturesque Lake Michigan, putting 90 percent of the athletes within 15 minutes of their competition sites. On a recent Saturday afternoon, the ride from the stadium site to the village took just seven minutes — without the benefit of Olympic traffic lanes.

"For athletes, that is a huge thing," said Bart Conner, a Chicago native who won two gold medals in gymnastics at the 1984 Olympics. "I know every city is going to say, 'We're an athlete-centered bid.' But Chicago, they considered the athletes from the get-go."

Fans, too. It's only a short walk from many venues to the city's top restaurants, shops and hotels. If fans tire of sporting events, they can wander through Millennium Park or the city's Museum Campus, home to the Field Museum, Adler Planetarium and Shedd Aquarium.

"We have made the city the icon instead of a particular venue," said Doug Arnot, Chicago 2016's operations chief. "It's the whole backdrop: the lake, the parks, the skyline, having green and water around the venues as opposed to concrete."

Overblown budgets are as much a part of the Olympics as the five rings, but Chicago organizers insist their plan protects against that. By using park space and existing or temporary venues, they are limiting the massive construction projects that are the main culprit for overruns. Fifteen venues already exist, nine will be temporary and another six will be scaled down after the games.

This includes the Olympic stadium, which will become an amphitheater-like space with 2,500 to 3,500 seats that could be expanded again to host, say, an international track meet.

The Olympic village is priced at $1 billion, though developers will essentially pay that bill. The site, a shuttered hospital, is considered key to reviving a disadvantaged neighborhood on the near South Side, and will be built regardless of whether Chicago gets the games.

Chicago organizers also worked closely with the international sports federations so venues could be changed before final plans were submitted to the IOC, not after the Oct. 2 decision. Cycling, for example, was moved to Madison, Wis., because the initial road course in suburban Chicago was considered too easy.

The knocks on Chicago's bid are largely out of organizers' control.

The USOC had a messy shakeup in March, and turnover there has been a longtime annoyance to the IOC. The USOC didn't help matters when it announced plans for its own television network, putting it in competition with NBC — which just happens to provide the IOC with its largest chunk of revenue through a $2.2 billion deal to broadcast the 2010 and 2012 Olympics.

The USOC backed down, and chairman Larry Probst also brokered a truce over the United States' share of Olympic revenues. IOC president Jacques Rogge has said the issues won't affect Chicago's bid, but the tensions could be a factor for some members.

Of course, all of that could be forgotten if Obama goes to Copenhagen.

"I believe we have an historic opportunity to do great things together," Obama wrote in a letter sent to IOC members, "and I look forward to discussing that opportunity with you, if not in Copenhagen, then soon thereafter if Chicago is your choice."

This ones funny, "not an International destination like LA". Chicago is the second biggest world destination from London, second only to New York and the second largest destination from Europe in the USA.

This is why we need to get the Olympics!! Maybe we will get more US media respect.

[bnk]

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2009/09/mayor-richard-daley-interview-hosting-olympics-would-transform-chicagos-worldwide-reputation.html

September 22, 2009

Mayor Richard Daley interview: Hosting Olympics would transform Chicago's worldwide reputation

Posted by Dan Mihalopoulos at 4:35 p.m.

As Chicago's Olympic bid enters the home stretch, Mayor Richard Daley today continued to sound the theme that winning the right to host the 2016 Summer Games would transform the city's worldwide reputation.

The mayor delivered that message as part of a series of 15-minute interviews with reporters limited in scope to the Olympic bid. Daley typically only takes questions from local reporters in a group setting at news conferences.

In an interview in his office, Daley acknowledged the general public doesn't share his enthusiasm for the bid, saying there are “a lot of questions still being asked.”

But Daley said Chicago often is overshadowed by New York and other coastal cities and could receive a huge boost to its reputation by hosting the Olympics.

“You don’t realize the importance, the global importance that Chicago will receive,” the mayor said. “If you get this, it’s a major, major coup for the whole marketing strategy of Chicago.”

The mayor said Chicago already has received broad exposure by virtue of being among four 2016 finalists.

Daley said he plans to take a commercial flight Friday to Copenhagen, where the International Olympic Committee will choose the 2016 host on Oct. 2 from among Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Madrid and Chicago.

“It’s a very close race,” Daley said, echoing other predictions.

A recent Tribune poll showed eroding public support for the Games, with economic concerns foremost in the minds of skeptics.

Daley said the bid team’s plan is “very, very fiscally responsible.”

The mayor often has stated that no public money will be used to finance the Games. When a Tribune reporter pointed out today that taxpayer dollars would indeed be used --- including $20 million in Chicago Park District funds for a kayaking course on Northerly Island --- Daley replied that the new Olympic facilities would remain as recreation amenities long after the Games end.

Asked whether forecasts for Olympic revenues might be too rosy, Daley said he did not worry about that, relying on the bid team. “That’s all Pat Ryan,” he said, referring to the 2016 bid leader.

The mayor said he understands that the public is concerned about the economy, but he feels confident that pursuing the bid is the right thing for the city and the region.

In defending his Olympics pursuit, Daley invoked the Columbian Exposition of 1893 and a laundry list of his own moves in 20 years as mayor, including the demolition of Meigs Field to build a park on Northerly Island, the construction of a new emergency management center and the ongoing expansion of O’Hare International Airport.

Asked if the people would thank him later, Daley said "You have to make decisions. This decision, I firmly believe (in). They went through the World’s Fair, Columbian Exposition....

[VivaLFuego]

Seems like most of the stuff out of Daley is about how good the Olympics will be for Chicago.

Isn't the most important point to stress and elaborate on at this moment how good Chicago will be for the Olympics? Particularly seeing as he already got his signed guarantees and insurance. All that matters for the next 12 days is what IOC members think - and they care about hosting a good Olympics, not about the best way for Chicago to improve its reputation or whatever.

I'm starting to think this will go to Rio unless Daley keeps quiet and just lets the bid team and the BO delegation do their thing with vague generalities and platitudes about the greatness of the commonality of sport, the melting pot of immigration, yadda yadda - I doubt the IOC will appreciate this sort of parochial "where's mine?" arrogance.

[VivaLFuego]

This ones funny, "not an International destination like LA". Chicago is the second biggest world destination from London, second only to New York and the second largest destination from Europe in the USA.

This is why we need to get the Olympics!! Maybe we will get more US media respect.

That's in terms of air travel, largely related to business activity but also simple geography (for flights from London it makes more sense to route through a Chicago hub than LA).

It's obvious they're talking about international leisure tourism, which LA undoubtedly has much greater cachet and recognition in, irrespective of whether it "should" or not. Even on the subject of air travel, LAX has more international traffic than ORD.

[bnk]

No I think we will be OK as long as the POTUS goes and gladhands. Yes it will be close but I think Rio and Brazil is really desporate right now and seem to be making some small wrong moves at the close. We will see.

This article is kind of cute.



http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7027599

By Ben BradleySeptember 22, 2009 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Just days before he leaves for Copenhagen, ABC7 goes one-on-one with Mayor Richard Daley.

...

Mayor Richard Daley sees the Olympics as being about much more than 17 days of athletic competition. To him, the Games represent thousands of jobs, global marketing, and a stimulus program for the city.

"Everyone asks what's Plan B if we don't get it? I really don't know. In the sense this recession is much deeper. It's getting deeper and deeper," said Daley.

The Mayor says he's confident his plans for Games in the parks will appeal to the International Olympic Committee. It also has the side-effect of keeping Chicago's proposed Olympic budget lower than those of Rio, Madrid and Tokyo.

"The key is we're not going to be buying land. Land is very valuable. So if you buy your land, that's half your cost sometimes higher than that. We're saving an enormous amount of money when you're building facilities on park land," said Daley.

...

"We're in the home stretch. We're not going to talk about if this could have happened or if that could have happen," said Daley.

Mayor Daley still insists he doesn't know whether President Obama will join his delegation next week in Copenhagen. He said the First Lady's sales pitch can stand on its own.

The President is sending key swing IOC voters a letter. It reads, in part, "If you honor Chicago with your selection, we will ensure that the Olympic and Paralympic Games are a key priority for our Nation.
As for Daley's own plans...

BRADLEY: "If we get the Games, do you still want to be mayor in 2016?"

"First we have to get the Games," said Daley. " I'm just worried about getting the Games. I'm not worried about my personal career, what's going to happen to me. Next week I could drop dead! I hope note. I'm just saying, you don't look at it that way."

The mayor refused to say whether he would consider bidding again for the Olympics should Chicago lose next week.

[bnk]

http://www.sportsfeatures.com/index.php?section=olympic-article-view&title=Critical%2010-day%20countdown%20for%202016%20Olympic%20bids&id=45883

September 22, 2009
NewsUpdate
Critical 10-day countdown for 2016 Olympic bids


LAURA WALDEN / Sports Features Communications

TAMPA, Sept. 22: The 10 days left for the four cities vying to host the 2016 Games will be the most crucial of the entire campaign. This time, when the Olympic Family lands in Copenhagen on October 1 for the 121st Session and Congress starting the next day there will be no breathing room for last-minute lobbying on the spot in person. It’s now or never.

This is a tough agenda for any bid since many IOC members will arrive in the city only the day before the presentations and the vote. On the eve the IOC will hold the opening ceremony for the session probably followed by a reception so people will have a chance to mingle.

The cities will have less than 24 hours see IOC members in person and to undertake last-minute exchanges before the session opens at 8:30 am on October 2 and the first bid city Chicago will hit the presentation podium just 15 minutes later. The other cities are set to follow throughout the day. This is an extremely tight window of opportunity in Olympic bid terms.

Usually several days of meetings allow the members and bid teams to meet, exchange ideas and actively campaign in person. This is always flanked by a media chase to report the latest advances in the bid race.

This time, however, the members will likely come to the meeting with their minds already made up - and there will be little time in which to change their point of view. Therefore, these last 10 days are of essence for that last-minute surge of bid networking.

New process

...

Lucrative broadcast rights

The IOC has decided to hold off marketing the United States broadcast rights for 2016 until after the host city has been chosen and the economic recession has eased. A bidding war between the top American networks is widely expected since online platforms have emerged as a lucrative adjunct to regular programming. NBC’s web presence last year for Beijing 2008 was cutting edge and took its coverage of the Olympics to a new level.

In 2003 NBC spent $2.2bn on the rights to the 2010 and 2012 Games at the time the host cities had not been decided. NBC outbid US networks ABC and Fox with an offer to pay $820m for the 2010 Winter Games, $1.18bn for the 2012 Games and threw in another $200m for promotional and marketing fees.

Recently Rupert Murdoch of News Corp and Fox has reportedly expressed more interest in jumping into the US broadcast bidding ring if Chicago were to be voted host city.

Cost of bidding

The cost of bidding for this 2016 round of cities has been fairly contained with each city's campaign budgets coming in officially at just under $50m - Chicago $49.3m, Madrid $40.4m, Tokyo $48m and Rio de Janeiro $43m.

Hence - even without counting the early failed bids - a grand total of $180.7m has been invested by the four cities chasing votes in the first round starting with 99 members with a grand total of 106 members in all. This overall investment makes these 99 votes worth approximately $1.83m each - an expensive gamble.

Some cities are already uncovering their cards on how many votes they think they have in the bag. That can mean the kiss of death in bid circles.

[F1 Tommy]

That's in terms of air travel, largely related to business activity but also simple geography (for flights from London it makes more sense to route through a Chicago hub than LA).

It's obvious they're talking about international leisure tourism, which LA undoubtedly has much greater cachet and recognition in, irrespective of whether it "should" or not. Even on the subject of air travel, LAX has more international traffic than ORD.

Thats true, but LAX didn't turn into a huge international hub until the increase in Asian travel in the 1980's, mainly to China and south Asia. That also had to do with logistics. Besides that they have taken traffic that would have gone to more historical SFO Asian hub and brought it to LAX. Bottom line, both Chicago and LA are large international destinations. The article acts like Chicago is not.

[the urban politician]

Seems like most of the stuff out of Daley is about how good the Olympics will be for Chicago.

Isn't the most important point to stress and elaborate on at this moment how good Chicago will be for the Olympics? Particularly seeing as he already got his signed guarantees and insurance. All that matters for the next 12 days is what IOC members think - and they care about hosting a good Olympics, not about the best way for Chicago to improve its reputation or whatever.

I'm starting to think this will go to Rio unless Daley keeps quiet and just lets the bid team and the BO delegation do their thing with vague generalities and platitudes about the greatness of the commonality of sport, the melting pot of immigration, yadda yadda - I doubt the IOC will appreciate this sort of parochial "where's mine?" arrogance.

^ Well, it was a set of interviews in his office with a bunch of local reporters berating him with questions whether the Olympics are good for Chicago or not, and why public support for the Olympics is poor. So yeah, I think Daley has no choice but to respond to these queries. Remember, he constantly has to sell the Olympics to his constituents because, after all, they are the ones who are on the hook; let's not forget his latest poll numbers.

[ThreeHundred]

I don't want to derail the thread and I don't know how many of you people have seen this but this is Rio's Olympic venue plan. VISUALLY, it destroy's Chicago's.

From SSC:

Four regions: Barra (center of the games), Maracanã, Deodoro and Copacabana (iconic region of the city).

MARACANÃ

João Havelange Olympic Stadium

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Lumo20Rio2016_Venue_04_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Lumo20Rio2016_Venue_05_1.jpg

Maracanã Olympic Stadium

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Lumo20Rio2016_Venue_21_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Lumo20Rio2016_Venue_20_1.jpg

Sambódromo (Temple of the Samba)

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_06_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_02_1.jpg

Maracanã Live Site of Quinta da Boa Vista Park (beautiful and imperial park near of the Maracanã Stadium)

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Lumo20Rio2016_Venue_30_1.jpg

COPACABANA REGION

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_60_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_62_1.jpg


http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_61_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_56_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_54_1.jpg

DEODORO REGION

National Equestrian Center

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_15_1.jpg

National Shooting Center

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_16_1.jpg

Modern Pentathlon Park Deodoro

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_32_1.jpg

Olympic Stadium Slalom

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_11_1.jpg

BMX

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_12_1.jpg

X Park

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_64_1.jpg


Olympic Tennis Center

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_59_1.jpg

BARRA REGION - MPC/IBC

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_28_1.jpg

BARRA REGION - OLYMPIC BEACH

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Lumo20Rio2016_Venue_39_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Lumo20Rio2016_Venue_40_1.jpg

BARRA REGION - OLYMPIC VILLAGE

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_41_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_44_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_46_1.jpg


http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_47_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Lumo20Rio2016_Venue_51_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Lumo20Rio2016_Venue_43_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Lumo20Rio2016_Venue_50_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_49_1.jpg

BARRA REGION - MEDIA VILLAGE

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_31_1.jpg

BARRA REGION - RIOCENTRO

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_63_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_10_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_58_1.jpg


http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Rio2016_Venue_07_1.jpg

Porto

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Domus20Rio2016_Venue_52_1.jpg

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn45/Cacaroto_photo/Lumo20Rio2016_Venue_53_1.jpg

http://www.rio2016.org.br/pt/Galeria/Imagens/Default.aspx

It either has to be Chicago or Rio. I would still be happy with Tokyo or Madrid but I want either Chicago or Rio above the other two.

[Kngkyle©]

They also seem to have much better renders than the ones Chicago has produced.

[cbotnyse]

10 days to go

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f21/cbotnyse/my%20photos/DSC_10days.jpg

[bnk]

I don't want to derail the thread and I don't know how many of you people have seen this but this is Rio's Olympic venue plan. VISUALLY, it destroy's Chicago's.
.
A link would have been more than adequate. :rolleyes:

Most of us that follow it closely are aware of all of the city’s bid books.

[ardecila]

*yawn* Their Olympic Village looks like some retiree complex in Florida. Wide roads feeding a bunch of towers, and not a pedestrian in sight.

The only thing they have over us is a nicer Olympic Beach/marina (with nicer-looking people, to boot!) On everything else, i.e. the vast majority of venues, we have them beat.

I just had a funny thought - what if we win the Olympics, but then the Olympic beach has to be closed during the Games because of high bacteria levels in the water? D'oh!

[Nowhereman1280]

^^^ By then that should almost never happen. The entire deep tunnel and reservoir system should be complete by 2016 and should be capable of handling all but once in a 100 year rain events.

@Three Hundred, Also remember that Chicago's bid book contains no actual designs. All of the venues in Chicago's book are just placeholders, all the main venues will have their design chosen by competition and we will probably end up with some neat designs as a result...

Also, to be a booster, visually, Chicago's skyline and architecture destroy's Rio's. Who needs natural mountains when you have built man made ones on top of a perfectly level swamp?

[Yankee]

Mr. President PLEASE make the trip.

Two days of absence won't get in the way of passing health care reform, they've been working on that bill for months now. If anything, it'll HELP him pass it. After Chicago wins, the story will dominate the news for at least a few days and he'll return home to a grateful nation :cool: regardless of how much his pitch will have actually affected the IOC, although he's obviously exceedingly good at delivering eloquent, emotional and inspiring speeches. So that will score him political points and boost his ratings - what better time to pass health care reform while the nation is all dreamy about the Olympics :D So, it's a win-win.

The President's election was a worldwide celebration (like the Olympics), and Chicago is his hometown - that along with the fact that North America is due to host the Olympics constitutes a geopolitical advantage we have right now, which, however, can only truly be exploited if the President attends the ceremony.

The other 3 world leaders will be there, if he's the only one not attending it's saying America doesn't care as much about its bid, which obviously couldn't be less true as we all know... Plus everyone loves him - it might not help a whole lot, as I'm sure the vote has more or less been if not already decided then at least some broad agreement has been reached, but it sure will not hurt - every time the President has spoken to an international audience he's won us points :P

Anyways, I just felt like typing all this, I'm sure you're all well aware of it, but I guess I'd just like to remind you to email the White House and tell your friends to do so as well - if they get a few thousand emails maybe that will help the President make his decision (or not... but that's pretty much all we can do).

I think he'll go, because he's been a staunch supporter and he's a proud Chicagoan, and the Olympics coming to America will be good for him, the city and the country :D


Oh, and in response to this:

I don't want to derail the thread and I don't know how many of you people have seen this but this is Rio's Olympic venue plan. VISUALLY, it destroy's Chicago's.

I'll have to respectfully disagree, but let's not turn this into a vs. thread. Obviously we're all rooting for our nations' applicant cities. :tup:

[bry456]

Go Rio or Tokyo!

[nomarandlee]

I don't want to derail the thread and I don't know how many of you people have seen this but this is Rio's Olympic venue plan. VISUALLY, it destroy's Chicago's.

From SSC:

It either has to be Chicago or Rio. I would still be happy with Tokyo or Madrid but I want either Chicago or Rio above the other two.

Though I very much want Chicago to win losing to Rio would not have me too down. Long before this process I have felt Rio would be one of the vert best potential locations to host a future games. I just hope they get a turn in 2020 or 2024 instead of 2016. :D

I think on the whole the venues themselves end up being a push. I think the connectivity and logistics of the Chicago venue plan are a good deal better then Rio. Both on paper/renders at least look more intriguing to me then Madrid's or Tokyo's (Madrid's plan especially don't impress me that much). Either Chicago or Rio will potentially provide the best vistas and camera shots for a games that has ever been with Chicago's parks/lake/skyline and Rios ocean/mountains.

[LouisianaRush]

Thanks for the update ThreeHundred. The renderings look great.

[sentinel]

They do look nice, thanks ThreeHundred. I don't know if sexy renderings help though, in terms of the final outcome - for the 2012 bid, the Paris bid book was visually superior than the London bid, but it didn't help them..I wonder if those are still online somewhere..

[bnk]

http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2009/09/chicagos_olympic_lobbying_blit.html

Chicago's Olympic lobbying blitz; Valerie Jarrett meets with Tony Blair

By Lynn Sweeton September 23, 2009 5:38 AM


Rep. Bobby Rush's "call list" to African ambassadors to get out the IOC vote for Chicago


WASHINGTON -- White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, overseeing the Obama administration's drive to land the 2016 Olympic Games, met Tuesday with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in New York, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. Jarrett's huddle with Blair comes as international lobbying intensifies in advance of the Oct. 2 vote in Copenhagen and Chicago organizers are working on their home stretch strategy.


Blair's personal lobbying with the International Olympic Committee in Singapore in 2005 is credited with helping London win the 2012 Games. First lady Michelle Obama -- and possibly President Obama -- will be in Copenhagen to be part of Chicago's final sales pitch.


It's down to Olympics election math as Chicago competes with Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro.

There are 106 IOC members from around the globe. A majority vote determines the host city. However, it could take more than one round of voting to yield a majority. IOC members from countries with bidding cities can't vote until their city is eliminated. Out of the 106 IOC members, then, it could take about 50 to win.

On Tuesday, InsideTheGames.biz, an outlet specializing in Olympics coverage, was reporting that an IOC member from the Rio de Janeiro 2016 committee was claiming to have 20 votes locked in from IOC members.

...

Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) has been through a lot of election days, and he is approaching this next big one with his call list in hand. When Rush hits the phone to get out the vote for Chicago, his targets are more than a dozen African ambassadors representing nations with, collectively, 15 IOC members.

Atlanta won the 1996 Olympic summer games, Rush said, because they "went out of their way to lobby these African nations, ask for their votes and they were successful. They are really going to be key to Chicago winning."

A reception for African officials in Washington was held last Thursday at the Capitol -- and attended by Jarrett and Chicago 2016 president Lori Healey. While IOC members are not members of their governments -- they are supposed to represent the Olympic movement, not their nations -- direct and indirect outreach doesn't hurt.

I'm told geographic alliances aren't what they used to be. A South American IOC member may care more about Madrid than Rio. Even IOC members from the same country could be in different camps.

But let's go over the geography.

The African nations, with 15 members from the continent, have no geographical horse in this race; neither does "Oceania" -- New Zealand, Australia and Fiji -- with 5 members.

Europe, with 47, has the biggest contingent of IOC members. The Americas would be the next biggest bloc at 18, but Chicago and Rio are both in the running. Asian countries have 22 IOC members.

As in any contest, Rush said, the job is to "Identify your vote. Work your vote and get your votes on election day."

[bnk]

The coverage is covering everything now.





http://www.aroundtherings.com/articles/view.aspx?id=33244

Chicago 2016 dressed for success in Copenhagen

9/23/2009

CHICAGO (September 22, 2009) - Chicago 2016 announced today that the presentation apparel being worn by the delegation in Copenhagen, Denmark has been designed by three Chicago-based designers, including neckwear designer Lee Allison, venerable clothing brand Hart Schaffner Marx, and renowned designer Maria Pinto. The designers donated their time to work with the bid and have provided the clothing at cost.

...

[Via Chicago]

This is why we need to get the Olympics!! Maybe we will get more US media respect.

Who cares if the "media" respects us or not? Does everyone here really walk around with an inferiority complex all day?

[Via Chicago]

"Everyone asks what's Plan B if we don't get it? I really don't know. In the sense this recession is much deeper. It's getting deeper and deeper," said Daley.

And this is why Daley has failed as a mayor. What executive of any major corporation could get away with saying "I dont have a plan B, and if we dont land my pie in the sky Plan A were all fucked!"

[ThreeHundred]

Though I very much want Chicago to win losing to Rio would not have me too down. Long before this process I have felt Rio would be one of the vert best potential locations to host a future games. I just hope they get a turn in 2020 or 2024 instead of 2016. :D

I think on the whole the venues themselves end up being a push. I think the connectivity and logistics of the Chicago venue plan are a good deal better then Rio. Both on paper/renders at least look more intriguing to me then Madrid's or Tokyo's (Madrid's plan especially don't impress me that much). Either Chicago or Rio will potentially provide the best vistas and camera shots for a games that has ever been with Chicago's parks/lake/skyline and Rios ocean/mountains.

That's why I think Chicago and Rio are the most alluring choices. Chicago would be one of the first 'truly urban' Olympics considering that all of the venues are basically within downtown Chicago. Rio on the other hand would be the first 'tropical' Olympics. Everyone loves all things tropical.

And someone answer me this (as I'm a more casual follower of this thread): Why isn't Soldier Field the Olympic Stadium?

[Via Chicago]

Why isn't Soldier Field the Olympic Stadium?

Too small. After the redesign, it only seats 61,500. Ironically, if they had left it as it was, it would have been perfectly big enough. More infinite wisdom from our city on that one...

[Soaring_Higher]

And someone answer me this (as I'm a more casual follower of this thread): Why isn't Soldier Field the Olympic Stadium?

Too small for track and field, and it needs at least 80,000 seats (about 20,000 short).

[ThreeHundred]

And the Olympic Stadium in Washington Park; that isn't the final design correct? Should Chicago win, it'll be redesigned sometime in the future right?

[Via Chicago]

And the Olympic Stadium in Washington Park; that isn't the final design correct? Should Chicago win, it'll be redesigned sometime in the future right?

I dont think thats clear yet. The rendering is a conceptual idea. I do think its more of a placeholder than anything else, but the stadium will be temporary, which is going to limit the possibilities.

[cbotnyse]

Too small. After the redesign, it only seats 61,500. Ironically, if they had left it as it was, it would have been perfectly big enough. More infinite wisdom from our city on that one...:rolleyes: give it a rest. you think they should have left Soldier field as is? 2016 wasn't even on the table back then.

[emathias]

And this is why Daley has failed as a mayor. What executive of any major corporation could get away with saying "I dont have a plan B, and if we dont land my pie in the sky Plan A were all fucked!"

CEOs get away with that sort of thing all the time. In the press it's usually couched in articles as a "high-stakes gamble" or "betting the farm."

And, honestly, there are plenty of governments in the U.S. that don't even have a Plan A, let alone a Plan B. Plan B would be to do what every other place is doing - hunker down, try not to raise taxes in ways that discourage business growth, and dip into reserves. Daley really doesn't want to dig into existing reserves for this crisis if he can help it, but unlike some places Chicago does still have reserves, even if it's doing its best to ignore them because the ones still around aren't supposed to be used as a rainy-day fund.

[Via Chicago]

:rolleyes: give it a rest. you think they should have left Soldier field as is? 2016 wasn't even on the table back then.

Of course it needed to be renovated. Bathrooms, accessibility, and other issues all needed to be addressed. However, they could have done a renovation which was much more sensitive to the historic nature and geometry of the original stadium. Otherwise, they simply should have demolished it and started from scratch. What we're left with is an absolute embarrassment, at least in terms of the exterior. Maybe the Olympics werent specifically in the cards, but its blatantly obvious that in order to host such an event you need a stadium with far more seating. Even by NFL standards, Soldier Field is at the bottom of the league in terms of capacity.

[VivaLFuego]

And this is why Daley has failed as a mayor. What executive of any major corporation could get away with saying "I dont have a plan B, and if we dont land my pie in the sky Plan A were all fucked!"

While I'm usually a Daley defender (as the lesser of two evils as compared to letting the bratty children in City Council operate anything more complex than safety scissors), I have to agree with you. This attitude is so disconcerting for so many reasons. Again, the IOC can't be too inspired by reading this sort of parochial schmuckery, i.e. "we need the Olympics to save our city!"

[Via Chicago]

CEOs get away with that sort of thing all the time. In the press it's usually couched in articles as a "high-stakes gamble" or "betting the farm."


Then they're bad CEOs and have mismanaged if they need to take such a drastic step. And theres a difference between taking a risk, and saying if we dont succeed then we are out of business. But you're right. Daley IS betting the farm. And if the games go to Rio, then what? I just hope Im not around when the house of cards falls down.

[VivaLFuego]

:rolleyes: give it a rest. you think they should have left Soldier field as is? 2016 wasn't even on the table back then.

Right, that was back when Daley viewed the Olympics as a potential money pit rather than a potential savior :haha:

You do have to admit, Soldier Field's location as an Olympic Stadium would have sealed the deal no questions asked. You already know how good it is on Football telecasts. Imagine that for Olympic opening ceremonies, for setting new track and field world records, and so on.

However, that would have taken something resembling strategic thinking with a planning timeline of greater than 12 months and an outyear budgeting discount rate of less than (1/{time to next election})

[Via Chicago]

Right, that was back when Daley viewed the Olympics as a potential money pit rather than a potential savior :haha:


It would be funny if it werent true.

[cbotnyse]

Of course it needed to be renovated. Bathrooms, accessibility, and other issues all needed to be addressed. However, they could have done a renovation which was much more sensitive to the historic nature and geometry of the original stadium. Otherwise, they simply should have demolished it and started from scratch. What we're left with is an absolute embarrassment, at least in terms of the exterior. Maybe the Olympics werent specifically in the cards, but its blatantly obvious that in order to host such an event you need a stadium with far more seating. Even by NFL standards, Soldier Field is at the bottom of the league in terms of capacity.I completely disagree with your opinion about SF, but find it hilarious how you pin the whole thing on Daley, as if designed it. :haha: The anti-Daley crowd is nauseating.

[cbotnyse]

However, that would have taken something resembling strategic thinking with a planning timeline of greater than 12 months and an outyear budgeting discount rate of less than (1/{time to next election})this is a bunch of bullshit and you know it..... nauseating

[Via Chicago]

I completely disagree with your opinion about SF, but find it hilarious how you pin the whole thing on Daley, as if designed it. :haha: The anti-Daley crowd is nauseating.

Designed it? No. Pushed it through with an iron fist, without any regard for alternatives or debate? Yes.

Whats nauseating is those blindly following Dear Leader off the edge of the cliff without a single independent thought of their own. And you're dragging the rest of us with.

[cbotnyse]

Designed it? No. Pushed it through with an iron fist, without any regard for alternatives or debate? Yes.

Whats nauseating is those blindly following Dear Leader off the edge of the cliff without a single independent thought of their own. And you're dragging the rest of us with.:rolleyes: bullshit and more bullshit. Should daley have listened to those who wanted the Bears moved to Schamburg or some other suburb? I can name plenty of things Daley has done wrong, but also name plenty of things he has done right. But the way the anti-Daley crowd just blames every little thing on him and those who dont are immediately called "blind followers" is an f'n joke.

[Nowhereman1280]

Too small. After the redesign, it only seats 61,500. Ironically, if they had left it as it was, it would have been perfectly big enough. More infinite wisdom from our city on that one...

Yes because the Chicago Municipal Government directly controls the decisions of a privately owned and operated football team... Right...

Get over it, Soldier Field is not "Chicago's Stadium" it is the Bear's stadium. Therefore the Bears have the right to do with as they please. Why would the Bears expand it to 80k seat when they only think they need 61000? That is their decision, not the City of Chicago's. Soldier Field couldn't have been used without a renovation anyhow and, seeing as how the Bears paid for most of the renovation, why would they renovate it to be anything other than what the Bears believe they need?

I dont think thats clear yet. The rendering is a conceptual idea. I do think its more of a placeholder than anything else, but the stadium will be temporary, which is going to limit the possibilities.

No, its been directly referred to as a "place holder" by the bid committee. The actual design is going to be chosen by competition and will probably look nothing like it.