Friday 12 June 2009

The race to host the 2016 Olympics – media review

IOC members will decide on October 2 this year whether Chicago, Rio, Tokyo or Madrid will host the 2016 Olympics.

The cities will try to convince voters when they make presentations to them in Lausanne, Switzerland next week. It’s the first and only opportunity they’ll have to formally state their cases before the actual voting day.

Here are some of the stories making the headlines in the lead-up to next week’s event:

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Some 93.6 per cent of Spanish people want Madrid to host the 2016 Olympics, according to a report in Europa Press.

The survey was carried out by the Madrid bid team and suggests a 2.2 point increase in support in six months. Over three quarters of interviewees were confident Madrid would be chosen, compared to 66.1 per cent in November 2008.

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Peter Ueberroth, the former head of the US Olympic Committee, has made Chicago favourites to land the 2016 Olympic Games, reports AP.

In an interview with WBBM-AM radio in Chicago, he said the city’s multi-ethnic community and its large number of major companies gave it an edge over the other cities bidding for the games.

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Chicago’s residents are worried that preparations for the 2016 Olympics would force them away from parks and the lakefront of Lake Michigan, reports the Chicago Tribune.

It is expected that construction on major venues would start as early as 2013, although the bid team say work will be phased to avoid too much disruption.

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