Olympics decision stuns Chicago crowd

Thousands of people stood in bewildered silence in downtown Chicago after the IOC surprised everyone by dumping the city from the race for 2016 Summer Olympics in the first round of voting.

Chicago: Thousands of people stood in bewildered silence in downtown Chicago after the International Olympic Committee surprised everyone by dumping the city from the race for 2016 Summer Olympics in the first round of voting.

The vote in Copenhagen was carried on huge television screens set up in the Daley Center to carry what many had hoped would be approval of Chicago as the host city. It had seemed so likely to many in a city still basking in the glow of hometown Sen. Barack Obama`s election as president.Instead, Chicago was bounced in the first round, bringing an audible gasp from the crowd. The elimination came so quickly -- more than an hour before the scheduled final announcement -- that people were still excitedly talking among themselves when IOC President Jacques Rogge appeared in the screens to announce: “The city of Chicago, having obtained the least number of votes,will not participate in the next round.”Many weren`t sure what Rogge had said, and turned to each other to ask. Some just stood for a few minutes, staring at the screens, and at least one flung his hands into the air in a crude gesture toward the TVs. Within seconds, people began filing out of the plaza. Behind them, the screen listed the cities still in contention Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro, with a blank space where the word “Chicago” had been moments earlier. The IOC decision was a major blow to Mayor Richard M. Daley, who spent three years working, cajoling and insisting that the games would be a boon for his city. Bureau Report