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Candidates to host the 2016 Olympics pitched their bids to Asian delegates and IOC chief Jacques Rogge on Tuesday, confidently predicting they can weather the global economic crisis.
Representatives from Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro made the trip to Bali for the Olympic Council of Asia’s annual congress with all insisting they deserved to win.
The OCA has 45 member nations and their votes will be crucial when the final decision on who will host the 2016 Games is made in Copenhagen next October.
Hosting an Olympics costs billions of dollars but the four contenders said they were well-placed to showcase the world’s biggest sporting event.
Given that Asia held an Olympics in August — in Beijing — and Europe will do so — in London — in 2012, Chicago appears well placed to be awarded the event. America last held an Olympics at Atlanta in 1996.
The Chicago bid boasts the full support of presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain.
“It is fortunate that a lot of the infrastructure we need is already built, so we don’t need a lot of construction,” bid chief Patrick Ryan told AFP.
“And things we do have to build are a long way off. However, nobody can dismiss something like the global economic situation, including the other cities. We have to be conscious of it.”
Ryan added that he wasn’t overly concerned about attracting sponsors who may have less money now than they had three months ago.
“It’s more difficult for anyone attracting sponsors than it was 90 days ago, but I think people will look up and see the Olympics is a worthwhile business proposition,” he said.
Madrid, which failed in its bid to host the 2012 Olympics, termed itself a “safe” choice as host of the 2016 Games in the midst of the financial crisis.
“We are a safe bid, we have more than 70 percent of infrastructure in place so investment in that is minimal,” bid president Mercedes Coghen told AFP.
“Over the past four years the city of Madrid has invested a lot in normal infrastructure also, like transport, so we are well placed and not worried too much about the future.
“The sponsors we have are committed to our bid. It can open the door to attracting new business. It’s just a question of confidence and they have a lot of confidence in our bid.”
Tokyo won the backing of former French president Jacques Chirac earlier this month, but its bid has faced considerable opposition, with critics saying the metropolis does not need the financial expense of hosting the Olympics.
However, bid chairman Ichiro Kono said there was nothing to worry about.
“It seems to me that the global financial crisis will have no impact for us because the Tokyo metropolitan government is in a very healthy financial state and we have planned for the Games in a very sensible way,” he said.
Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro has a strongly growing economy and President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has boasted that it has “everything needed” to stage the 2016 Olympics.
Brazilian Olympic Committee President Carlos Neuman backed those comments.
“To have the 2016 Games will be a great honour not just for us but for the whole of South America,” he said.