Rio emerges from presentations as strong contender for 2016 Olympics

Rio boost for 2016 Olympics

LAUSANNE, Switzerland — With 3½ months to go, Rio de Janeiro has picked up significant momentum in the race for the 2016 Olympics.

The Brazilian city emerged with the most buzz among the four cities during presentations Wednesday to International Olympic Committee members and could become the leading contender going into the Oct. 2 vote in Copenhagen against Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo.

“The feedback that we got was very positive,” Rio bid secretary general Carlos Roberto Osorio said Thursday. “People really got our message. … Rio offers something new and fresh. Of the four candidates, Rio is the novelty.”

Hitting hard on the theme of bringing the Olympics to South America for the first time, Rio officials struck a chord with many IOC members with their passionate appeal.

IOC members said Rio’s closed-door presentation was the most compelling, although much can change between now and October and intangible factors always play a key role in the secret vote.

Rio made a particular impact by displaying a huge map showing where all the Olympics have been held, with dots in Europe, Asia and North America and a blank for the entire South American continent.

“Rio made a very good case in their presentation about the games never having been in South America,” said Pat Hickey, head of the European Olympic Committees. “That could translate into sympathy votes. But I wouldn’t call any of the four cities a favorite. A lot will still depend on the personal relationships with IOC members.”

Rio also scored points by bringing the head of Brazil’s central bank, Henrique Meirelles, to give assurances of the strength and stability of the Brazilian economy.

“He is one of the most important persons who can speak about finance in the world,” said Carlos Nuzman, president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee and the Rio bid. “Everybody loved how he explained.”

Rio also showed a recorded video message from Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

“We had our A team,” Osorio said. “The IOC members are looking to the Rio proposition with great interest. I think they see the potential of the bid and the potential for the Olympic movement.”

Senior Canadian IOC member Dick Pound, however, was not carried away by the Rio presentation.

“I’ve heard some people say, ‘Gee, don’t you think Rio did better than everyone thought?’” he said. “I thought, ‘Well, no. I think you’ve heard what they’ve had to say, and their most telling moment was the map.’ That tells the story, but it doesn’t tell you why the map looks like that.”

Nuzman said the other candidates should be viewed as favorites because they have the experience of previously hosting the Olympics in their countries.

“We are optimistic that we are in the race,” Nuzman said. “We have a good chance but we need to have humility, and our feet on the floor.”

Chicago, seeking to take the Summer Olympics back to the U.S. for the first time since the 1996 Atlanta Games, remains a front-runner and could get a decisive boost if President Barack Obama comes to Copenhagen for the vote.

Silva is expected to attend on behalf of Rio; Spain’s King Juan Carlos has announced he will go to Copenhagen to support Madrid; and Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara said Thursday that Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masako have been invited to make the trip for the Japanese capital.

The four cities set up exhibition rooms at a Lausanne hotel on Thursday. Members came in to ask questions and look at videos, scale models and interactive displays of the bid plans.

Chicago made a big impression with a wraparound wall photo featuring a bird’s eye view of the entire downtown lakefront area where most of the venues would be located.

“So many members have never been to Chicago and expect it to be a city of smoke stacks,” said Doug Arnot, Chicago 2016’s operations chief. “They come here and see this picture and it has quite an impact. This is a real photograph. It exists today. It’s not what might happen.”

Chicago bid officials announced Wednesday they had come up with an additional $500 million in private insurance, clearing the way for Mayor Richard M. Daley to sign the host city contract if the city gets the games. Daley said the financial guarantees would not be an extra burden to taxpayers.

“It’s not appropriation of any more money,” Daley said. “It’s just an insurance policy for anything above $500 million. It’s not a liability for the city.”