On the Scene in Copenhagen: 2016 Olympic Bids Seek Edge

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero says the bid team will continue working with intensity until the IOC vote (ATR: Panasonic/Lumix)(ATR) Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero urges the IOC membership to award the 2016 Games to a country “fully immersed in Olympism”.

Speaking at the bid’s final press briefing Thursday, Zapatero said: “This is a strong unified bid of an entire country. There is no way we can do anything more than we have done. The bid is the strongest we could ever dream about.”

Standing alongside Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón and other members of the bid team – bid CEO Mercedes Coghen was conspicuous by her absence – the prime minister promised a big push in the final hours leading up to the vote. Zapatero said he, King Juan Carlos and other senior bid officials had met with 50 IOC members on Thursday morning alone.

“We are not going to stop one minute until we get there. We are going to continue working with intensity,” he pledged.

“I am very proud of this bid. We are going to give the best or ourselves, which is the best of Spain, and hope to be able to give great joy to our country tomorrow.”

In meetings with IOC members, Zapatero said it had been “useful to know the way they are thinking.” He said Juan Antonio Samaranch Snr, IOC honorary president, had been a great point of reference in his contacts with members.

“I asked questions and told them the strengths of Madrid and reminded them of one more very important moment: the presentation of Madrid. I am a firm believer that the final presentation has a lot of value in this race,” he added.

Zapatero declined to make any prediction of whether Madrid would make it to the second or third round of voting.

His comments came in a short but passionate address to media and in response to reporters’ questions. He also spoke about Spain’s experience in hosting international sports events. And he noted that the country was going through “a golden period” in sport following its UEFA Euro 2008 title and successes in basketball, Davis Cup tennis and handball among other sports.

Remarking on the 77 percent of venues ready for an Olympics in the city, he described Spain as “a very reliable country” when it came to organizing sports events.

Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón also said a few words at the briefing, speaking of the tangible (physical) and intangible (social) legacies of a Madrid Olympics.

A Madrid 2016 spokesman declined to name the full presentation team for Friday. But he confirmed that Raul, the captain of La Liga giants Real Madrid, will have a role; world number two tennis star Rafael Nadal is not taking part due to playing commitments in China.

Tokyo Ready for Final Pitch to IOC

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara attempted to inject excitement into the Japanese bid’s final press conference before the IOC vote.

“Tomorrow is the moment of truth. We have done our utmost effort,” Ishihara told reporters through a translator. In an uncharacteristically low-key address to media, he spoke of a compact, athlete-friendly Games plan that had a strong environmental focus.

Ishihara, the president of Tokyo 2016, rejected accusations that the Tokyo 2016 team has failed to communicate its passion in the race for the Olympics, especially in the final days. “Sometimes Tokyo is said to lack in our passion but we are quite emotional,” he said.

But bid chief Ichiro Kono refused to be downcast in his assessment of the Japanese bid’s campaign, which is lagging well behind its three rivals in terms of a buzz. Some uncertainty remains over the role Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will play in the city’s presentation to the IOC Friday.

“Tokyo is ready for the last 24 hours,” Kono said in his most passionate remarks to journalists in the last two days.

“We have a very strong proposal to the IOC. My team is very excited and optimistic. Let there be no mistake. This has been a monumental effort by the tens of thousands of Tokyo people working tirelessly behind the scenes for nearly four years.”

Kono answered the question ‘Why Tokyo?’ by listing three points: the most compact plan for athletes and sports fans; total financial security; and guarantees of the greatest ever Olympic legacy for humankind.

Asked whether Tokyo’s technically sound bid was at a disadvantage in the face of celebrity representation on the other bids – the Obamas for Chicago, Pele and President Lula for Rio – Kono said: “On the contrary, I believe the IOC would like to have fantastic Games for the athletes. We have much experience of hosting events.”

Tokyo 2016 bid members at their final briefing with Governor Ishihara, pictured second right (ATR: Panasonic/Lumix)“Through these events IOC members can see we are passionate about it. I am sure we will be able to express ourselves in the right manner. Of course we have our new prime minister. I believe that we can be successful.”

Kono and Ishihara were joined by three other bid team members who will also present to the IOC tomorrow: Tsunekazu Takeda, president of the Japanese Olympic Committee; Mikako Kotani, chair of the Tokyo 2016 Athletes’ Commission; and Paralympic shooter at the last two Games, Aki Taguchi.

A surprise member of the 12-member presentation team is also promised.

Kotani said she thought the winning asset in Tokyo’s bid plan was the venue plan that put athletes at the heart of city life. “I truly believe this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Olympic Movement,” she said.

Obamas Captain Chicago 2016 Team

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, USOC chairman Larry Probst, bid chief Patrick Ryan and operations guru Doug Arnotjoin four athletes: Anita DeFrantz, one of two IOC members from the U.S. and a rowing bronze medalist; Bob Ctvrtlik, the USOC's vice president, international and a gold and bronze medalist in volleyball; 2008 decathlon champion Bryan Clay and Linda Mastandrea, the Chicago 2016 director of Paralympic Sport and Accessibility who has won 15 gold and 5 silver medals in the Paralympics.

"The president and Michelle are our captain and co-captains," Daley said.

DeFrantz was the lead-off speaker.

Mrs. Obama Wows Aussie IOC members

Michelle Obama arrives at the IOC Session opening ceremony at the Copenhagen Opera House(ATR: Panasonic/Lumix)Australian IOC member John Coates spent about 20 minutes chatting with Mrs. Obama in the fourth-floor room at the Marriott Hotel where her campaign to win over voters is headquartered.

"You can't help being swept away by her charm," Coates said."She is obviously very proud of her city and its people and believes Chicago can stage a spectacular Olympic Games."

The other Australian IOC members, Kevan Gosper and Phil Coles, also met with Mrs Obama. “She is an astonishing lady," Gosper said.

Oprah Adds to Star Power

The First Lady got some company when Oprah Winfrey arrived at the Marriott on Thursday afternoon. Winfrey was mobbed as soon as she entered the lobby. She posed for photographs with Charmaine Crooks, a former IOC member and still a member of the athletes' commission and press commission, and also hobnobbed with IOC members Gerhard Heiberg and Sam Ramsamy.

Then it was up to Mrs. Obama's suite. "I'm going into the room, and whoever's there, I'll talk to them," Winfrey said. She added, "It's a seven-year party, and the party could start tomorrow.'' Oprah Winfrey meets NBC Olympics chief Dick Ebersol in the Marriott hotel in Copenhagen (ATR: Panasonic/Lumix)

Basketball Legend Stresses Safety

David Robinson, a three-time Olympic basketball player for the U.S., cited three reasons why Chicago would be a good host for the Games: "Chicago's a beautiful place because when they come to Chicago, they'll feel safe," he said, "No. 2, they'll feel like they can train and do their job nd No. 3 they'll be able to tell their story."

He said that the recent murder of a Chicago youth by street gangs was tragic. "Obviously no one wants that to happen," Robinson said, "but that happens in every city across the world. When we bring the athletes in, when the families come and the representatives of each country come in, the question is, 'Are they going to feel safe in Chicago?' And I think the answer is 'Yes, absolutely."

Paralympian Ann Cody added, "The Olympics will create hope and opportunity in those young people impacted by that vicious murder."

Chicago was the only bid city to hold both of its media briefings at a sports complex. The first was on a stage covering the DGI-byen pool, then the committee took over a gym.

U.S. Increases International Profile

Bill Scherr, a wrestling Olympic medalist, said the U.S. Olympic Committee will have a silver lining no matter what happens in the vote. "Win or lose, we have integrated ourselves further and more importantly into the Olympic Movement than we were before this bid," Scherr said.

"We believe we're making great strides with the IOC to become a good partner in the Movement. Win or lose, that process will continue. They're important to us and it's a symbiotic relationship."

That work began under the tenure of Scherr's twin brother Jim, the former CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee who lost his job in the March shake-up.

Author Speaks Up for Rio

Paulo Coelho, who wrote "The Alchemist," an allegorical novel that has sold more than 65 million copies and has been translated into more than 50 languages, brought star power to Rio's final press conference.

Coelho talked about the symbolism in the five Olympic rings. "Originally it symbolizes a continent and they need one of those rings to be fulfilled because we never hosted an Olympic Games in South America," he said. "We are dreamers who are capable of putting a multi-faceted dream into reality."

Coelho said Brazilians know how to overcome difficulties. "We are fighters, we are hardworking people and finally we're here." At a lunch Thursday with the wives of some IOC members, the 63-year-old author promised that in seven years, if he is alive, "I would stand upside down on the beach at Copacabana."

The Last Olympics?

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara put a bit of a damper on a bid committee party Wednesday night when he told reporters, "It could be that the 2016 Games are the last Olympics in the history of mankind."

Ishihara cited global warming as the reason and added, "Scientists have said we have passed the point of no return." Tokyo has stressed that it will host green Games and the Olympic Stadium, when it is built, will be fully powered by renewable energy.

With reporting from Mark Bisson and Karen Rosen

Your best source of news about the Olympics is www.AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.