2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics, formally called the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, will be an international athletic event that has yet to be organized by the International Olympic Committee. The organization under the leadership of Jacques Rogge is currently preparing to mount calls for cities to bid for the honor of hosting the event. All applications are expected to be officially submitted in 2007. The winning bid will be announced in the summer of 2009.
It is widely expected that in 2016 the Games will return to the United States, due to an unwritten convention that every 20 years the IOC reciprocate for the vast payments by the NBC media group for Olympic coverage—funds that largely bankroll the IOC. Chicago is currently many people's favorite to win the Games. However, the poor reception given to the 1996 Atlanta Games, which was perceived by many as overly commercialized and poorly organized in terms of logistics, and the bribery scandal that plagued the award of the 2002 Winter Olympics to Salt Lake City, may count against the U.S.
United States
Baltimore-Washington D.C.
On
July 7 2005, Dan Knise, president of "Baltimore-Washington D.C. 2012", said that there was a definite possibility that the cities might get back into the bidding for 2016. Knise stated in a
Baltimore Sun article [
1] that "we should remain interested and engaged in the process." Rick Abbruzzese, a spokesman for
Baltimore Mayor
Martin O'Malley, added that "we will have to see what the details are, get together with our partners in
D.C. and go from there."
Chicago
Chicago had previously decided against bidding for the 2016 Games as a result of financial guarantees required by the IOC. However, the IOC has since announced a new philosophy under which the Olympics would become a smaller event in terms of construction and costs, and apparently as a result of this,
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley Chicago has performed a U-turn and now intends to bid to host the 2016 Games. After the formation of the Chicago Metropolitan Organizing Committee in the
1990s, the city had previously shown some initial interest in hosting the
2008 and
2012 Olympics. Also, in
1904 it was at first awarded the Games that were eventually held in
St. Louis.
Chicago's presumed entry is considered to be among the strongest of the U.S. bids; the city benefits from many existing high-profile sporting venues in its park district (such as
Soldier Field,
United Center, and
Wrigley Field) and universities such as
UIC and
Northwestern would also contribute. The city also scores well in terms of infrastructure: the main points in the city and
suburbs will be easily accessible by
"L" lines,
Amtrak, and
CTA means as well as a new suburban rail system, the
Star Line.
Chicago O'Hare International Airport, one of the United States' most important transportation hubs, is due for major expansion by 2016.
The Chicago bid's geographic location also counts in its favor: its central position within the U.S. means that its time zone is very suitable for American television coverage. The city's reputation as a major convention center, as well as its great international diversity, are also seen as positives. Finally, it is expected that a bid would be strongly supported by a majority of Chicago residents, avoiding one of the problems that blighted
New York City's failed bid for the 2012 Games.
Denver
Denver is reportedly thinking of entering a bid for either the
2018 Winter Olympics, or possibly a Summer Games, but given the fact that Denver declined the opportunity to host the
1976 Winter Olympics without giving a compelling reason for doing so, it seems that they may be out before the race even begins.
Detroit
Detroit has been mentioned in local media reports as considering a bid for either a Winter or a Summer Games.
Los Angeles
A
Los Angeles bid was first announced on
October 7 2004, and this was eventually confirmed on
7 September 2005 at the
Amateur Athletic Foundation, an organization created with surplus funds from the
1984 Olympics. The announcement was made jointly by Barry Sanders, chairman of the Southern California Olympic Committee, and City Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa; Villaraigosa told a gathering including Olympians
Janet Evans and
Rafer Johnson that "We're a community built for the Olympic Games. We have world-class sporting venues and we have a history of success."
Los Angeles has hosted two previous Summer Olympic Games, in
1932 and 1984, but Sanders said that the 2016 bid would be "distinctive in its approach". The city has a number of available sports venues, including the
Coliseum used in both previous Olympics, the downtown
Staples Center, the soccer fields at the
Home Depot Center in suburban
Carson and the
Arrowhead Pond arena in
Anaheim.
Minneapolis-Saint Paul
A possible bid from
Minnesota by
Minneapolis-
Saint Paul was reported on
August 7 2003.
New York City
City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg has said that a decision on whether to bid again for the Olympics will be taken if he wins re-election in November
2005. Any
New York City bid would have to convince the IOC that the stadium problems which contributed to the failure of the city's
2012 bid would not be repeated.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia has been rumored in the local media to be making a bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic games, after its success with massive large-scale events such as the
2000 Republican National Convention and
Live 8 in July
2005. Philadelphia has the advantage of a large centralized sports complex, as well as several other venues at area universities, an abundance of hotel rooms, and a site for the olympic village located within close proximety to the sports complex and transportation, including
Philadelphia International Airport and
SEPTA subway lines to Center City. The city's historic sites and its location at the center of the Northeastern United States (approximately equidistant from New York and Washington) are also major advantages.
San Diego-Tijuana
A report of
January 24 2005 suggests that a binational
U.S.-
Mexican bid involving the geographically close cities of
San Diego and
Tijuana is under consideration.
Other North American bids
Havana
José Ramón Fernández, president of the
Cuban Olympic Committee, announced on
July 7 2005 that his country would bid. Potential problems with a
Havana bid center on required improvements to infrastructure and poor relations between Cuba and the United States.
Montreal
GamesBids.com reported on
July 27 2005 that
Montreal was considering a bid for the 2016 Games. Its advantages include a highly multicultural population, its position as a major economic center and past experience at hosting global events, such as the
1976 Summer Olympics and the
Canadian Grand Prix in
Formula One auto racing. However, Toronto's more recent experience in bidding for the Olympics may well count against Montreal.
Toronto
The lack of European competition could also give
Toronto an edge in trying to win the Games if it chooses to bid on them. The city was a close second to Beijing in the final round of bids for the
2008 Games and in the last two decades has achieved an "international" population diversity that almost rivals that of New York. Although as a
Canadian city a Toronto Games would not technically fulfill the "unwritten convention" mentioned above with regard to NBC, it could be still be a very strong candidate in the mind of the IOC for 2016, especially since it lies in the
same time zone as New York. Toronto pulled out of bidding for the
2012 Summer Games after the
2010 Winter Games were awarded to the Canadian city of
Vancouver.
South America
Argentina
Buenos Aires was a candidate city for the
2004 Olympics, but lost hope of becoming an Olympic host after
Argentina's economic crash in
2001. However, the country's economy has since rebounded to such an extent that some groups within the Argentine media now predict that Buenos Aires will announce a bid to host the 2016 Games, with an associated increase in investment in the city's infrastructure.
Brazil
Agency reports have mentioned
Rio de Janeiro as a possible bidder for 2016.
Chile
In
2002, the president of the
Chilean Olympic committeee, Fernando Eitel, announced that he wanted to see the 2016 Olympics hosted by Chile, adding that "much of the organization is already in place." Eitel also believes that Rogge wishes to see more developing countries playing a part in hosting the Games, and that this desire would work in Chile's favor.
Africa
Kenya
Kenya announced in early 2005 that it had the intention of bidding for the 2016 Summer Olympics; this would make it only the second
African country (after
South Africa) to launch a serious bid for the Games. However, Rogge has said that Kenya would have to make changes to its infrastructure if such a bid were to be taken seriously.
South Africa
According to agency reports, a
South African city, most likely
Cape Town, is considering a bid.
Asia
Dubai
Dubai in the
United Arab Emirates has announced an interest in bidding for the right to host what would be the
Middle East's first Olympiad. Infrastructure is excellent, and the emirate's wealth means that it could easily afford to build any facilities deemed necessary. One potential problem is that of climate: the Dubai summer would be unacceptably hot for such an event, so a spring or fall date would probably be required.
India
The
Indian capital of
New Delhi has announced its wish to host the Olympics, and believes that a great source of strength will be the
2010 Commonwealth Games, which will be held in the same city. However, national opinion is deeply divided, with many saying that given the evidence that no country has ever won the Games with its first attempt, and the less than impressive national displays in Olympic medal tables, the bid would rely massively on the success of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Israel
The city of
Tel Aviv is reportedly considering a bid, and is in the process of constructing a feasibility report into staging the Games. However, they admit that there are major challenges which would need be be overcome for an
Israeli bid to succeed, not least in terms of security. There would also be the danger of politically-motivated boycotts or protests from some nations, although a Tel Aviv Olympics would probably suffer rather less from this than one held in
Jerusalem. Other problems include relatively poor infrastructure and a possible lack of support from within the IOC itself.
Japan
Japan has announced that it wants to host the Summer Olympic Games in either 2016 or
2020; the most likely course of action is a "warm-up bid" for the 2016 Games, with the same city then bidding again (with a higher expectation of success) four years later. So far, the cities of
Sapporo and
Fukuoka have expressed their interest. Sapporo hosted the
1972 Winter Games, but neither city has previously bid for a Summer Olympiad. According to GamesBids.com in a report of
August 5 2005,
Tokyo has also expressed an interest in hosting the Games in a year from 2016 onward.
South Korea
South Korea's second city of
Busan is intending to make a bid. The city's mayor announced in
2002, after its success in hosting that year's
Asian Games and
FIFA World Cup, that an Olympic bid was the next natural step to becoming a world-class city. South Korea has hosted the Olympics before, when the
1988 Games were held in
Seoul, but there may be problems with
Pyeongchang's bid for the
2014 Winter Olympics, as the IOC would certainly not select the same country to host consecutive Olympiads. Pyeongchang is seen as a front-runner for 2014, having only narrowly lost to the Canadian bid in 2010, and this may damage Busan's chances.
Thailand
The
Thai Prime Minister has said that his country intends to make a bid. No city has been formally selected as yet, although
Bangkok would be considered a strong favorite. It is said that the idea of making a bid came under consideration as a result of the Thai Olympic team's strong showing at the
Athens Games of
2004.
Europe
Given
London's success in securing the
2012 Games, it is considered extremely unlikely that a
European city will be selected for a second successive Olympiad. Nevetherless, a number of European cities are said to be considering bids.
Czech Repblic
A
Czech bid from
Prague is said to be under consideration.
Germany
Hamburg is likely to form the centerpiece of any
German bid, as it is generally seen as a better candidate than
Leipzig, the city that attempted to host the 2012 Games.
Italy
A possible
Italian bid could be centered on
Milan-
Lombardy, and were it not for the great unlikelihood of there being two successive European Summer Games it might score highly. Other Italian cities to have been mentioned are
Naples and
Rome.
Netherlands
A
Dutch bid centered on
Rotterdam is said to be under consideration.
Portugal
The Portugese committee's president, Vicente Moura, announced on
July 6 2005 that there would be a bid from Lisbon.
Russia
Moscow was a candidate city for 2012, and although knocked out in the first round of voting its bid was praised for its technical merit. Mayor
Yuri Luzhkov said, "We will bid for the right to become the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games." [
2] The only other
Russian city considered to have the ability to stage an Olympic Games is
St. Petersburg, and the Vice Governor of that city mentioned the possibility on
29 December 2003.
Spain
Madrid came third in the race for 2012, despite having led the field on the second ballot. The
1992 Summer Olympics in
Barcelona were generally considered a great success, and this may bode well for a successful
Spanish bid in the future; Rogge said after their defeat for 2012 that "the IOC would be delighted with a new Madrid candidacy." [
3]
Turkey
The
Turkish government announced in
1992 that it would continue to bid for the Games until it was successful; this implies that there will be another bid from
Istanbul this time around as well.
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