2016 Summer Olympics

The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, is a major international sports and cultural festival to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games as governed by the International Olympic Committee. While a host city has not yet been determined, various cities have begun a bidding process for that honor. A host city will be announced at the 121st Session (which will also be the XIIIth Olympic Congress) of the International Olympic Committee to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, on October 2, 2009. The 2016 Summer Paralympics would also be held in the same host city.

The bidding process

Main article: 2016 Summer Olympics bids

The bidding process for the 2016 Olympic Games was officially launched on May 16, 2007. The next step for each city is to submit an initial application to the IOC by September 13, 2007. Completed official bid files are due by January 14, 2008. Finalists will then be notified in June 2008. Then the final host city selection will be made by the full IOC on October 2, 2009, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

International pundits believe that the host city will most likely be in North America because cities from Asia and Europe have been selected as hosts for the four most recent Olympic Games. That may not be the case, however, especially considering that Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is to hold the 2010 Winter Olympics. Still, Montreal (Summer 1976), Lake Placid (Winter 1980), Los Angeles (Summer 1984), and Calgary (Winter 1988) have all hosted Olympics on the same continent in a 12 year span. (Note, however, that in that 12 year span, the Summer and Winter Olympics were held in the same year, which means that between 1976 and 1984 the Summer Games were held in Moscow U.S.S.R. in 1980, and between 1980 and 1988 the Winter Games were held in Sarajevo, (Former Yugoslavia) in 1984. So, each version of the Olympic Games, did not have consecutive Olympics on the same continent.)

Cities that will officially bid for the Games

Asia

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Main article: Dubai 2016 Olympic bid

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. The infrastructure is on par with European and North American standards, and the emirate's wealth means that it could easily afford to build any facilities deemed necessary. One such development that could serve Olympic purposes, Dubai Sports City, is already under construction.

There are two potential setbacks that may thwart Dubai's hosting chances. One is the summer climate, where temperatures frequently surpass 45°C (113°F), which is very hot for such an event. This temperature may require a spring or autumn date for the games, which is comparatively unfavorable for media broadcast, although a spring date might fall during May Sweeps month in the United States. Likewise, an autumn date could fall in November, another sweeps month in the US. Furthermore, United Arab Emirates has a relatively thin sporting resume, with only one Summer Olympic Games medal in its history.

Tokyo, Japan

File:Tokyo Olympic 2016logo.jpg

2016 Tokyo Bid Logo

The Japan Olympic Committee set a deadline of June 30, 2006, for bids to the JOC and decided on August 30, 2006, that Tokyo will submit its bid to the IOC. The bid will likely be strengthened by the success of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which Japan co-hosted with South Korea. Japan also has past Olympic experience as the host of the 1964 Games in Tokyo and the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. Tokyo has launched a website at http://www.tokyo2016.or.jp/en/ as well as a logo.

Europe

Madrid, Spain

The same day London was chosen for organizing the 2012 Olympic Games, the mayor of Madrid spoke of an interest to make a bid for the 2016 games. A year later, on July 6, 2006, the city council unanimously voted for submitting a new bid. In May 2007, the mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón was received by the Spanish Olympic Committee, Comité Olímpico Español (COE), where he filed as the only Spanish candidate for the games. The Spanish Field Hockey Federation vice chairwoman, Mercedes Coghen was chosen as chairwoman of the project. Former IOC president, Juan Antonio Samaranch offered his help in this new attempt. The bid's website is available at http://www.madrid2016.org.es/ .

On May 30, 2007, COE officially approved Madrid as Spain's candidate for the 2016 Games.

Prague, Czech Republic

On March 22, 2007, Prague confirmed its bid when the Prague Assembly voted 53-10-3 in support of launching an official bid. Although the bid enjoys great support from state and civic authorities such as current mayor Pavel Bem, Prague's bid is considered to be a long-shot given several factors, such as Prague's lack of stadia and other important Olympic sports infrastructure, and seeing as how London is already hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics, the IOC is unlikely to award back-to-back Summer Olympic Games to the same continent [1].

Americas

Chicago, United States

File:Chicago2016logo.gif

2016 USOC Chicago logo

Main article: Chicago 2016 Olympic bid

On April 14, 2007, the United States Olympic Committee chose Chicago to run in the 2016 Olympic bidding. Chicago was expected to host the 1904 Summer Olympics but those Olympic Games ultimately took place in St. Louis, to coincide with the World's Fair. Chicago has an extensive public transit system, a wide range of venues, and a strong sports culture, being one of few cities in the US to host an NHL, MLB (2), NBA, MLS, AFL, WNBA and NFL team. Another possible benefit is the city's central location in the United States. Plans are for a temporary Olympic Stadium in Washington Park on the city's South Side. An official site has been launched as well as an official logo. In May 2007, Chicago was informed that its logo, a representation of a torch with the flames reminiscent of Chicago's skyline, violated IOC rules prohibiting the use of Olympic symbols (including rings, torches and medals) by candidate cities. Chicago agreed to revise the logo. [2]

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

On September 1, 2006, Rio de Janeiro was named by the Brazilian Olympic Committee as an applicant for the 2016 Games. The city is now preparing to play host to the 2007 Pan American Games, which will be the key proving ground for an Olympic bid. Rio de Janeiro launched applications to host the 2004 and 2012 Olympics, but failed to make the shortlist on both occasions. If the 2007 PAG turns out to be a logistical success, it may propel Rio de Janeiro as a serious contender when the bidding cycle for the 2016 Olympic Games begin. Furthermore, the IOC is eager to have either South America or Africa host the games, as these are locations that have never held the games. However, there has been much public concern regarding security issues in Rio. The Summer Olympics may be affected by the city's high crime rates and dangerous reputation.

Brazil has had experience in organizing large-scale sporting events in the past: Brazil organized and hosted the 1950 FIFA World Cup and is organizing a bid to host the 2014 event, and São Paulo organized the 4th Pan American Games in 1963 . Subsequently, due to the continental rotation policy taken by FIFA that will place the 2014 FIFA World Cup in South America, CONMEBOL has unanimously nominated Brazil as its candidate to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup, with FIFA making its final decision sometime in 2008 . The features to Rio 2007 includes the stadium João Havelange Olympic Stadium, that you can see in this site.

Cities considering bids

Africa

An African nation has never hosted a Summer Olympics. On January 13, 2005, a statement by the IOC President Jacques Rogge urged African nations to bid for the 2016 Olympics stating that an African city would stand a strong chance of winning if it meets key requirements. Many nations have responded by establishing bids.

Kenya

Kenya announced in early 2005 that it had the intention of bidding for the 2016 Summer Olympics, likely to be held at its capital, Nairobi. This would make it only the third African country (after South Africa and Egypt) to launch a serious bid for the Games. However, Jacques Rogge has said that Kenya would have to make significant improvements to its infrastructure if such a bid were to be taken seriously. Nairobi and Kenya have limited experience in organizing large-scale international sporting events: to date, the last time Kenya organized such a large event was in 1987 when Nairobi organized the 4th All-Africa Games. The 2007 World Cross Country Championships were held in Mombasa, Kenya.

South Africa

According to agency reports, a South African city, most likely Cape Town, is considering a bid. Given that South Africa will host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Rogge's eagerness for either Africa and/or South America to host an Olympic Games and the potential strength of another bid from Cape Town (Cape Town was on the candidate city shortlist for the 2004 Olympics).

The city of Durban has also expressed an interest in hosting the 2016 Olympics.

Asia

Despite Beijing's hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympics, a few Asian cities believe that they still could have a chance to host the 2016 Olympic Games with proper planning. Of the Asian bids, a possible bid from Israel sparked discussion globally. Tel Aviv University students created a hypothetical bid for Tel Aviv as host city, but it never materialized into a serious bid due to serious political and security considerations.

Qatar

Doha in Qatar has announced an interest in bidding for the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. [3] Doha was the host of the 2006 Asian Games, Qatar spent US$2.8 billion [4] on preparing Asian Games venues and may spend more on Olympics Games. The Qatar 2016 bid has also won support from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) president [5].

Objections may be raised to Qatar's bid because of its practice of giving "passports of convenience" to foreign athletes [6] and an incident at the 2006 Asian Games in which Mushir Salim Jawher, a Kenyan-Bahraini runner, was stripped of his medal by Bahrain for having competed in a marathon in Israel [7]. Qatar does not allow entry to people whose passports indicate they have visited Israel.

One major obstacle which will be hard to ignore is the average temperature in July and August, which can easily reach 40C (104F) degrees. A Qatari hosting would more likely take place in September, as was the case when Seoul, South Korea, hosted the Summer Games in 1988.

Thailand

Previously, Bangkok attempted a bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics but failed to make the shortlist. Bangkok is expected to offer its experience as host of the Asian Games on four separate occasions as proof of Olympic host city viability: the 4th Asian Games in 1966 , the 5th Asian Games in 1970 , the 8th Asian Games in 1978 , and the 13th Asian Games in 1998 . Bangkok hosted the first Asian Indoor Games in 2005 and will host the 24th Universiade in 2007 . Thailand is also co-hosting the 2007 Asian Cup with Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Notwithstanding, it is unclear what impact the 2006 Thailand coup d'état will have on the country's Olympic ambitions for 2016.

Europe

It is considered unlikely that a European city will be selected for a second successive Olympic Games with London hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics. No continent has hosted successive Summer Games since 1952, when Helsinki followed 1948 host London. Nevertheless, a number of European cities are said to be considering serious bids, while places like Prague in the Czech Republic are considering non-serious trial bids to warm up for future host city competitions. Serious confirmed interest in a bid comes from countries such as Azerbaijan, Italy, Germany, Spain and Turkey.

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan has been enlisted as the fastest growing economy in the world for several years now, due to its rising economy, the city of Baku has announced that it plans to bid for the Olympics.

Italy

Giovanna Melandri, Italy’s Sports Minister, announced on October 3, 2006, that Rome will be Italy’s candidate for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Melandri said that following the success of the Turin 2006 Winter Games, Italy knows it has all it needs to host large events, adding that Rome will be as successful as Turin. Melandri’s announcement confirms contacts Rome’s Mayor Walter Veltroni made with businessmen and politicians in Italy trying to get their support for Rome’s 2016 bid. On July 11, 2006, Veltroni withdrew Rome’s bid as Italy’s candidate, saying that in his opinion the conditions were not right for a Rome bid at this time. Melandri said that on Wednesday they will present two motions in Parliament in support of Rome’s candidacy, adding it wouldn’t be easy to beat the competition, but not impossible.

Portugal

Lisbon is considering a 2016 bid, after having held the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship and the upcoming 2009 Lusophony Games

Turkey

Since 1992, Istanbul has been offered by Turkey as its candidate for every Summer Olympics host city competition, with attempts to refine its proposals with each contest. Such attempts at refining their bids succeeded with Istanbul appearing on international shortlists for 2000 and 2008.

Americas

Canada

Canada has hosted the Olympics before, once in summer at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and once in winter at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. The main problem for Montreal and Toronto is that the 2010 Winter Olympics will be in Vancouver, and the IOC may be reluctant to award the Summer Olympics to Canada only six years after the Winter Olympics. It should be noted, however, that the 2002 Winter Olympics were in the United States six years after the 1996 Summer games in Atlanta, and the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California were four years after the 1980 Winter Olympics also in Lake Placid, New York.

Montréal

During the 2005 World Aquatics Championships, Mayor Gerald Tremblay, as reported on the leading Olympics bid website on July 27, 2005, said Montreal would be interested in hosting the Olympic Games for a second time.

There has been no follow-up on this statement. Since Tremblay's utterance, there have been no reports of any Quebec or federal politician, or any Canadian Olympic Committee official, making any noises at all about a Montreal bid, nor has there been any organization of a steering committee to develop a bid.

The city is also a bit wary of another Olympic bid, due to the bills that it was paying during over 30 years after the 1976 Games. The Olympic Stadium in Montreal became known as the "Big Owe," signifying that it felt like a mistake. Still, the city does have the correct infrastructure and experience in place to hold such an event.

Toronto

The Canadian city of Toronto was considering a bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics, which was shelved once the cities of Vancouver and Whistler won the 2010 Winter Olympics. While then-Deputy Mayor Case Ootes hinted a later bid was eminent, Mayor David Miller later said the city was not interested, despite the fact some felt London's win would "open the door" for a successful North American bid.

Its assets include rich cultural diversity, waterfront location and tolerable summer weather. As second place in the final round of voting to determine the 2008 Summer Olympics host city, Toronto is often considered Canada's strongest hope to eventually host the Summer Games or the World's Fair.

Toronto and Montreal were offered possible bids for the 2012 Summer Olympics; the bids withdrew just after Vancouver won the rights to host the 2010 Winter Olympics in 2003. The Vancouver selection to host the 2010 Winter Olympics is considered an impediment for both Montréal and Toronto.

It's been rumored that the nation's capital Ottawa wants to hold some key olympic competition events for either Toronto or Montreal, which are host cities with opening and closing ceremonies, that's if one of the two was selected to host the 2016 summer olympics.

Toronto recently failed to submit a bid to host the 2015 World's Fair. It is uncertain if the Canadian Olympic Committee will move forward with a bid from Toronto now that it will not play host to the fair.

On July 10, 2007 is was revealed that the Canadian Olympic Committee had begun work on a potential bid for the 2020 or 2024 games in Toronto.

Cuba

Lack of infrastructure and venues, as well as the overall poverty level of the nation have been reasons that Cuba failed to make the shortlist for 2008 and 2012; however, the poverty level could also work in Cuba's favor.

Cuba has a remarkably good olympic team in terms of athletics and medal count than most Latin American nations. Havana failed to put their name on the list of potential candidates for the 2012 Summer Olympics, although the Cuban summer olympics committee may want to give a third try in 2016.

It must also be noted that the U.S. embargo against Cuba might well prevent American athletes from participating. This would be a concern for the IOC not only due to the U.S.'s historically competitively strong presence at the Summer games, but also due to the television revenues that the U.S. media generates for the Olympics.

Mexico

File:Monterrey Logo.jpg

2016 Monterrey Logo

Mexico is offering a bid featuring Monterrey, a failed candidate for the 2008 Summer Olympics . This movement already has the support of important institutions such as ITESM, University of Monterrey, Fundidora Park among others. Monterrey is also one of the few cities to have presented a bidding logo for the event as well as a website at http://www.monterrey2016.org/ . Monterrey is the third largest mexican city and one of the major economic hubs of Latin America, especially since the NAFTA treaty took effect in 1994 and its location 100 miles south of the US-Mexico border (the Rio Grande).

Argentina

Buenos Aires was a candidate city for the 2004 Olympics, but lost hope of becoming an Olympic host after Argentina's economic crash. Of all the cities in South America, Buenos Aires has experienced the most success: it was a candidate city for the 1968 and 2004 Summer Games, it almost became the host city for the Games of the XVI Olympiad of 1956 , losing to Melbourne, Australia by only one vote during 43rd IOC Session in Rome in 1949 . And, in terms of previous experience in organizing large-scale sporting events, Buenos Aires and Argentina have an impressive résumé: Buenos Aires organized the 1st Pan American Games in 1951, while Buenos Aires co-hosted the 12th Pan American Games in 1995 with the cities of Mar del Plata and La Plata. Argentina also hosted the 1978 FIFA World Cup.

Chile

Fernando EitelEitel believes that IOC President Jacques Rogge wishes to see more developing countries playing a part in hosting the Games, and that this desire would work in Chile's favour. Another fact is that Santiago de Chile is evolving very quickly in terms of transportation (new subway lines, new airport terminals and urban highways), communications and has made strides in solving its pollution issues, bolstering the city's claim of being capable for hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics. Santiago is also a possible candidate to host the 2018 Winter Olympics in proximity to major ski resorts in the Andes.

Historically, Chile hosted the 1962 FIFA World Cup and wants to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup as well. Chile is referred to as one of the most prosperous of Latin American nations, thus to have the olympics in its near future is beneficial to the progress of the country since the end of military rule in 1990. It would be the first olympics of any kind in South America and the second in Latin America after the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City and the third held in the southern hemisphere: the 2000 Summer Olympics was hosted in Sydney, while the 1956 Summer Olympics took place in Melbourne, both in Australia.

Oceania

Though the games were hosted in Sydney in 2000, Oceania is regarded as a viable contender for the games in 2016 due to the success of the 2000 games. The only two nations with the infrastructure to host the games at the current time are New Zealand and Australia, though a multi-nation bid could also be in the works among other nations in the region. There is a major issue with this, however, as the Olympic Constitution says that only one city, let alone nation, may host an Olympic Games (except in the case of a Winter Olympic Games host city having to expand to other locations to find more snow). Such a bid, however, is considered a long shot due to the underdevelopment of smaller Oceanian nations.

Australia

Australia intends to make a bid for a third Summer Olympic event. Sydney was the host of the 2000 Summer Olympics and pledged in 2001 to hold the 2004 Summer Olympics if Athens, Greece wasn't able to financially support the games, but these games went on as scheduled in Athens. Not only Sydney, but Melbourne the nation's second largest city, Brisbane, Queensland and Adelaide, South Australia are other potential sites. It has also been said that Australia's eyes are on both the 2016 games and the 2020 games and a possible bid for either the 2014 or 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Joint bids

Citing the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan, some cities have discussed joint bids to host the Olympic Games. For example, a Web site was launched to promote a San Diego-Tijuana bid, although it did not actually evolve into a serious bid. Some South American cities have reportedly talked of joining in a regional bid. But the IOC Charter, at page 73, is clear: a single city is awarded the right to stage the Olympic Games. In 1956, however, the Games were shared by Melbourne and Stockholm, two cities on the opposites of the Earth. This was because horse competitions could not be held in Australia due to quarantine rules. The only loophole allowing a joint bid is where a winter sports nation without mountains seeks to host the Olympic Winter Games. The IOC has entertained multinational bids for the Winter Games in the past, but they have always failed. Two multinational joint bids were presented to the IOC in 1999 to stage the 2006 Olympic Winter Games: Helsinki 2006 with events taking place in both Finland and Norway and Klagenfurt 2006, with events taking place in Austria, Italy, and Slovenia. Both were eliminated by a review committee before the vote was taken. Salzburg, which is in Austria, but close to the German border, bid to host the 2014 Winter Olympics and included one venue in Germany. However, it was eliminated in the first round of voting.

It should also be noted that an attempt by the 2010 Winter Games Organizers to refer to the event as "Vancouver-Whistler 2010" was rejected by officials, raising doubts as to whether the IOC is indeed open to joint bids.

External links

• International Olympic Committee
• Tokyo - 2016
• Chicago - 2016
• Monterrey - 2016
• Madrid - 2016