Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

By

BREAKING: Chicago Out of Running to Host 2016 Olympics

This just in:
The Washington Post reports that

Chicago Out of Running to Host 2016 Olympics
COPENHAGEN, Oct. 2 – Chicago was eliminated after the first round of voting on contenders to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, leaving Rio, Madrid and Tokyo to contend for the bid.

Chicago was hoping to become the first U.S. city to host the Summer Games since Atlanta in 1996 and the first to host any Olympics since Salt Lake City hosted the Winter Games in 2002.

Drudge‘s headline:

WORLD REJECTS OBAMA: CHICAGO OUT IN FIRST ROUND
THE EGO HAS LANDED

The WSJ: Chicago Eliminated for 2016 Olympics; Rio, Madrid Remain

The city of Chicago was eliminated in the first round of voting for the 2016 Summer Games, in a blow to President Barack Obama.

President Obama lent the full force of the White House to the effort and flew to Copenhagen overnight to deliver a 7-minute speech to the IOC Friday morning. In addition, Michelle Obama spent much of this week in Copenhagen personally lobbying IOC members.

Tokyo was eliminated in the second round of voting. Its elimination was not unexpected, since the IOC was unlikely too return the Games to Asia so soon after Beijing. Tokyo’s bid received high technical marks in an evaluation, but lacked widespread public support during the bid process.

Madrid and Rio remain. The winner must receive 51% of the 100-plus votes.

Chicago’s boosters spent $48 million on the four-year campaign but, as always faced the obstacle of geographical loyalty. More than 40% of the IOC is European, and with competition from Rio, the U.S. could not count on support of members from South America, who were trying to bring the Olympics to their continent for the first time. Chicago2016’s budget also relied on some $4.8 billion in funding from the private sector, while other candidate cities had promises of billions of dollars of financial guarantees.

I wonder how Obama, Michelle and Oprah are going to spin this one while they wipe the egg off their faces.

(My bet is that Rio will get it. We’ll see.)

Here’s a photo from last evening: POTUS, FLOTUS, TOTUS,
6a00d8341c630a53ef0120a60b81d6970c-600wi

Snark, and more snark,

I’m sure that Obama will be a lot more persuasive with the Iranians.

Update
International Olympic Committee staffed by racists, which just named Rio as the host.

CNN announcer flips out,

The Anchoress asks, Did the IOC recognise a weak horse?

Share

Comments

  2. Funny to hear of CNN’s disbelief…
    Rio can show the world a thing or two regarding “how to party”.
    Good on them…

  4. The whole bid of Chicago really had no chance. No guaranteed financing only assurances that the locals could get the money. Which considering Chicago was probably true. But the city was never seriously being considered except as a pro forma courtesy. The Summer Games have never been in South America or in a Portugese speaking nation while the US has hosted them four times and North America six times.

    But the real kicker is that the average temp in Rio for the middle of August is 75 degrees while Chicago for the same time period is 85 degrees and as many found out it can go as 110 degrees for weeks as it did in 1995. Now the sprinters will probably complain about it being slightly cooler than they would prefer but distance runners will have suffered over 30 years of host cities where the heat is simply unbearable even for the shorter middle distances such as a 1500 or 3000SC.

  5. While I’m no fan of the Obamas, I don’t lay this one at their feet; in fact, from everything I’ve read, Michelle Obama did an outstanding job of lobbying. Much as I hate to say it, I have to give her props.

    Our squirrel-brain of a mayor is at whose feet I squarely lay this. And, while I’d have LOVED to go to as many events here as humanly possible, ultimately I’m glad we didn’t get it, because we really can’t afford it right now.

    I’m glad the games are going to Rio. It’s about time South America got a turn.

  6. Two things:

    1. Would the press have been covering the selection committee so breathlessly if this were Bush pushing for, say, Houston to host? And would they have allowed themselves to sound so incredulous at the possibility of losing out?

    2. Krauthammer lets Obama have it:
    “President Obama, I support the Americans’ outstretched hand. But what did the international community gain from these offers of dialogue? Nothing.” — French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Sept. 24

    When France chides you for appeasement, you know you’re scraping bottom.“