Chicago called Olympic front-runner
2016 GAMES | City's bid expected to make Wednesday's cut
As local Olympic officials prepare for Wednesday's announcement on which of the cities still in the running will make the first cut, a pair of experts called Chicago a front-runner in the contest to host the 2016 Games.
Chicago is expected to be one of the three to five finalists when an International Olympics Committee panel announces its technical rankings in Athens. The campaign then will swing to convincing the larger IOC membership to vote for Chicago in the final round, in October 2009.
(AP)
Analysts at aroundtherings.com, which closely covers the business of the Olympic games, put Chicago tied with Rio de Janeiro. The rankings are based on interviews and technical assessments of the bids.
Chicago has the Web site's edge over Rio in existing infrastructure and its venue plan to keep most of the contests in the central city. Rio's strengths: its organizing team and "ability to connect with IOC members,'' editor Ed Hula said.
Another Web publication, gamesbids.com, shows Chicago narrowly ahead of Tokyo, based on a computer program that matches proposals with winners of previous Olympic host contests.
But "the 2016 bid is becoming one of the tightest Olympic bid campaigns in recent history,'' gamesbids.com says. "There is no clear favorite in this race.''
Chicago 2016 officials caution that winning the Games is based as much on emotions of the IOC members as it is about presenting the best plan on paper. "Ultimately, [it's] a subjective decision, not an objective decision,'' said Doug Arnot, the Chicago 2016 organizing group's director of sports and operations.