Felipe Menegaz Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 Brazil Cites Rio's Poor in Bid to Host Olympics By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN Published: September 23, 2009 In an effort to bolster Brazil's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took an unusual approach. Speaking to reporters in New York, the populist president made an emotional appeal to have the Games in Rio de Janeiro so the event can be experienced by his country's poor. "I believe the Olympic Games are not only a privilege for rich countries," he said. The International Olympic Committee meets next week to select the 2016 host city at a meeting in Copenhagen. The campaigns by the four bid cities, Rio, Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid, are heating up. Mr. da Silva has already approved some $240 billion in funding for the Games and offered the federal government's financial guarantee to cover shortfalls in the organizing committee's budget. That, combined with his argument that South America deserves an opportunity to host the event, makes Brazil a formidable foe. This month, Brazil's bid received high praise in an IOC report on the technical qualities of all of the candidates' proposals, including transportation, financing, security and the competition venues. "Are the Olympic Games a sports event where only rich countries have the right, or is it another thing?" Mr. da Silva said. "It can't be a European or an American Olympic Games. It has to be a world Olympic Games." President da Silva is planning to attend next week's meeting in Denmark, as are the heads of state from Spain and Japan. Ever since Britain's Tony Blair helped to win the 2012 Olympics for London, personally lobbying IOC members in the days before the vote in Singapore in 2005, heads of state have become increasingly active in Olympic politics. In 2007, Vladimir Putin led the successful charge for Sochi, Russia, to host the 2014 Winter Games. President Barack Obama is staying home to focus on health-care reform, but he is sending two powerful Chicagoans on his behalf -- first lady Michelle Obama, and one of his closest advisers, Valerie Jarrett. President Obama has taped several video messages on behalf of Chicago, written letters to IOC members, and met with international sports officials. Last week he made the case for Chicago, the city he calls home, in a special White House Olympic ceremony, with his comments aimed directly at any remaining undecided voters. "Americans, like Chicagoans -- we don't like to make small plans," President Obama said. "We want to dream big and reach high. We hope deeply. We want these Games. And if you choose Chicago, I promise you this: Chicago will make America proud, and America will make the world proud." For months, the battle for the 2016 Olympics has been widely considered a two-horse race between Rio and Chicago. Both cities have put forward compact bids that make use of numerous existing facilities and are centered on their waterfronts. Tokyo and Madrid have geographical obstacles to overcome, because the IOC usually prefers to rotate the Olympics to different areas of the world. The most recent Summer Games were held in Beijing in 2008, and the 2012 Games will be in London. Chicago -- like any Olympics held in the U.S. -- offers direct access to the most major companies, which would be more likely to invest in a domestic Olympics. But the city's chances could be hurt by the U.S. Olympic Committee's fights with the IOC over financial matters in the past year, as well as the inability of the federal government to offer a financial guarantee for the Olympics. Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125367059123032815.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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