British Bookies Bet On Toronto's Bid Chance

According to London-based bookmakers William Hill International, Toronto is closing in on Beijing in the race for the 2008 Summer Games.

Beijing is still the odds-on favourite at 4/7 but Toronto is second at a respectable 2/1.

William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said "Beijing is favoured for political reasons and because the feeling was they were close previously. But Toronto is gaining for geographical reasons".

Sharpe had the following handicaps for the remining three cities on the short list: Paris 8/1, Osaka 9/1 and Istanbul 33/1.

Sharpe said "Paris has been ruled out by the fact that another European city recently hosted a Summer Games and, no offence to Osaka, but it's not really considered a big city by many people. Istanbul being next to Greece (which will host the 2004 Games) is a longshot".

Last year, Sports Illustrated magazine ranked Toronto second at 4/1 and Beijing the favourite at 3/1.

Mark Arsenault, spokesman for To-2008, said despite the improved odds, the team behind Toronto's bid is leaving nothing to change. "We're not gambling" he said. "We've never said we're in first place, but we've been confident in our bid and knowing that there has never been a front-runner that's actually won an Olympic bid in the past".

Meanwhile, John Bitove, head of Toronto's bid said "I think Beijing is still in the lead but, since the Sydney Games, we've been continually gaining on them. There has been a momentum shift to Toronto and Paris and we just have to keep the pressure on".

"You hear a lot more discussion (within the International Olympic Committee) about (how) it might have been nice to think about going to Beijing two years ago, when there weren't any other cities in the race. But now when (IOC members) start seeing the (bid) applications and they start reading through the materials, they start thinking about what's in the best interest of the athletes (and) they get more serious about where the votes are going to go".

Bitove said TO-2008 officials would like the evaluation committee members to tour Toronto extensively and get a taste of what the city has to offer in addition to the venue plans. "We'll see. These are working meetings (and) I don't think we're going to have a chance to do a lot of that stuff".

But because of the DXNet Advanced Visualization Centre opened recently at the Design Exchange in downtown Toronto, the evaluation team will be able to explore the city through the virtual reality model of Toronto.

Bitove said TO-Bid was going to highlight the fact that it's the friendly bid for the athletes, it's the most culturally diverse city and country in the world and no one technically is going to be as prepared or capable as Toronto.

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