Pan Am Games Test For Rio’s Olympic Bid
13/07/2007 |
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Rio de Janeiro’s Mayor Cesar Maia said Thursday that it would urge Rio’s bid committee to abandon its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games if it “botches” hosting the Pan American Games this week.
According to the Chicago Tribune the Mayor said he agrees with analysts that consider Rio de Janeiro and Chicago the top two competitors for the Summer Games.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and members of the Chicago 2016 bid group are in Rio this week to observe the Pan American Games.
Maia told the newspaper, “the Pan American Games are a defining test for us”.
Maia said he thinks Chicago has some advantages over Rio, reports the Times. The city has a well-developed infrastructure and stable political leadership, but he thinks Rio has its own advantages, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC) wanting to award the Games to South America for the first time.
Rio’s Mayor said he also thinks the IOC would embrace the chance to give the Games to a city that could use it as a catalyst to tackle social problems such as crime poverty. He said the Pan Am Games alone will create about 100,000 jobs. “The Olympics for us represents an element of human, economic and social development”, he said.
Another advantage for Rio is that the city has already presented Olympic bids, noting that most successful cities have already gone through the bidding process, he said.
Maia said the Pan Am Games projects, including new sports facilities and a renovated international airport, were pursued with a potential Olympic Games in mind.
Maia added that his government is “negotiating” with officials in Madrid to have the Spanish city withdraw its bid and throw its support behind Rio in a united “Latin” bid. He said Madrid’s chances are slim because London is hosting the 2012 Summer Games and Sochi is hosting the 2014 Winter Games.
(Source: Gamesbids.com)
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