/ Other finalist cities

Rio Bid Gaining Ground

As reported online by AFP:

Rio de Janeiro’s bid to become the first South American city to host the Olympics is gathering momentum, a source close to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) told AFP on Thursday.

By contrast the long-time favourites and frontrunners for 2016, Chicago, are losing ground equally fast and alienating many IOC members previously favourable to them, largely due to gaffes by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

The other two cities – Tokyo and Madrid – are still in with a chance but have much ground to make up before the vote of IOC members in Copenhagen on October 2.

Rio have made huge advances ever since their charismatic IOC member Carlos Nuzman made a passionate and effective presentation to the European Olympic Committee (EOC) in Istanbul last November.

Aided to a large part by Brazilian president Luis Ignacio ‘Lula’ da Silva, they have built on that steadily and with apparently a vibrant economy and the funds in place they are ready to meet all the requirements of the IOC.

5 Commments

  1. So now that it is a larger possibility that Chicago will not be getting the Olympics, and another city (probably Rio) will host it, will those who have been ‘swept-up’ into action in No Games Chicago fight to improve the negative conditions that the Olympics brings overseas? My fear is that everyone will just drop their placard, lower their voices, and go about their day in Chicago, harboring the false perception that the deference of the Olympics elsewhere is a victory. –We cannot forget that abject conditions that the Olympics brings to host cities is *universally* felt! No Games Chicago will only be a ‘progressive’ group in my eyes if they show solidarity with the future host city, and fight to make sure that Rio (or whichever city is picked) does not let the IOC, and the government and their beneficiaries take full advantage of the situation, as we have seen in past experiences. However, with the past activities and rhetoric I have been seeing in No Games Chicago, I am rather pessimistic that the issue will be dropped, and all the problems with Chicago–and the world–will remain.

  2. Dear Citizen of Rio,
    Keep NO Games Chicago website in your bookmark. The voting takes place on Friday, Oct 2nd. Oct 3rd, Saturday all the bid cities, winners and losers should sit down together for a big fejoada and discuss their respective futures.

  3. Ok…

    But this sounds unrealistic.

    You have the idea about corresponding with other cities, but there seems to be no organized opposition to the games itself here in Rio like there is in Chicago. Plus, we are miles apart, how would we sit together?

    I am for the idea, frankly, but this is your idea, not that of No Games Chicago. No Games Chicago seems to be concerned only with themselves…and even their rhetoric is purely anti this or anti that–no positive vision for the future has been expressed. I do not know how we can talk about our “future” if No Games Chicago cannot even do it themselves!

    To fulfill your idea, there would have to be fundamental shifts in ideology for No Games Chicago, and on top of that, hard work and organizing.

    When this becomes the case, then by all means, lets start to work with an “international spirit.”

  4. As someone who was involved in the NO Games campaign in Vancouver Canada I can tell you this, some carry on the ‘torch’ and others go on with other important aspects of life.

    The work of all those involved in No Games Chicago is a ‘legacy’ for other cities to use to deconstruct the hoopla, boosterism, deceit and disinformation as was the work we did in Vancouver.

    You did an admirable job, please leave your website up as it will be a resource for others who find themselves on the receiving end of a bid committee looking out for the interests of a very few.

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