Chicago expected to be named Olympic finalist
GREECE | Daley to attend June 4 hearing when list cut to 4 or 5 cities
Mayor Daley will fly to Athens, Greece, on Thursday for an Olympic-sized announcement with precious little suspense: Chicago is expected to be named a finalist to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
Last spring, the U.S. Olympic Committee chose Chicago over Los Angeles as the American bid city.
The international phase kicks off June 4, when the International Olympic Committee narrows the list of seven candidate cities to four or five finalists. Chicago is almost certain to make the cut. The IOC is scheduled to make its final choice in October, 2009.
Daley has already traveled the world in the name of promoting his Olympic dream, making trips to Athens; London; Vancouver; Rio de Janeiro; Bejing, China and Barcelona, Spain.
Now, the mayor is returning to Athens -- with all expenses for the week-long trip paid by Chicago 2016-to get the IOC's official nod and spread the gospel about Chicago.
He will attend the Sport Accord International Sports Convention along with members of the IOC's executive board and representatives from over 100 different international sports federations. Mayors from the other candidate cities are expected to be there, too, to hear the IOC's official announcement.
"When you're pursuing the Olympics, a half-hearted effort is tantamount to no effort at all," said mayoral press secretary Jacquelyn Heard.
"It's about relationship-building. At no point can we assume we're a shoo-in and, therefore, above the need to pursue every opportunity to increase our chances."
Last fall, USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth warned that Chicago stood in "fourth place" behind Rio, Madrid and Tokyo.
To come from behind in the Olympic sweepstakes, Uerberroth said Chicago 2016 needed to spend as much time developing person-to-person relationships with IOC members as it has on venue planning and logistics. And he urged companies that do business in countries with IOC members to get more involved in the politicking, in part, because they are free to lobby in ways that Chicago 2016 members cannot.
Seven cities are vying to host the 2016 Summer Games. In addition to Rio, Madrid and Tokyo, the field includes: Doha, Qatar; Prague and Baku, Azerbaijan.
Earlier this month, Chicago 2016 revealed that it spent $9.2 million to complete the first leg of Daley's Olympic journey--with $22.4 million left in the bank. That's a running start on the $49.3 million Chicago needs to compete on the international stage.
The bid committee is planning a July 14 fund-raiser at Millennium Park to help raise the $26.9 million it needs to get to the finish line.