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Countdown begins for host of 2010 Winter Olympics
Prague, July 02: Frantic last-minute lobbying has been taking place as the three candidates to host the 2010 Winter Olympics marked the countdown to Wednesday`s (July 2) decision.
Prague, July 02: Frantic last-minute lobbying has been taking place as the three candidates to host the 2010 Winter Olympics marked the countdown to Wednesday's (July 2) decision.
Deals were being struck and pacts sealed on Tuesday (July 1) in Prague's Hilton hotel as Vancouver, Salzburg and South Korea's Pyeongchang awaited the announcement by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of the winner.
Ramifications of the vote are manifold. Some IOC members have installed Vancouver as strong favourite for 2010 -- a decision which they see as virtually ensuring that a European city would win the vote for the Summer 2012 Games in two years time.
However, this does not mean the Canadians would be able to rely on a European block vote. With Paris and London early favourites for 2012, the other European cities bidding for that Games -- Madrid, Moscow and Leipzig -- could choose to sacrifice their hopes of staging the 2012 Olympics, preferring instead to launch fresh bids for 2016.
There are even suggestions that the Germans would put forward Berlin for 2016 and that Rome could enter the fray. Under this scenario, many European votes would go to Salzburg, hoping for a European victory in 2010, a New York or Toronto win in 2012 and a return to Europe for the Summer Games in 2016.
Meanwhile, South Korea's Pyeongchang is hoping to pull off a shock win with their promise of a united Korean team. However, the general consensus among IOC members is that the honour of staging the Games is Vancouver's to lose, having received the most favourable assessment from the IOC's evaluation commission last month.
Wayne Gretzky, former NHL star and an Olympian in 1998, is part of the Canadian bid committee for Vancouver, and is in the Czech capital to help with the lobbying.
"It's nerve-racking...We haven't got our game faces on yet, but we're getting to that point," Gretzky said on Tuesday. As general manager of the Canadian team in 1998, he showed he had the golden touch, overseeing the creation of a squad that went unbeaten through the tournament to capture the Olympic title.
When he left the game as a player -- he is currently the general manager of the Phoenix Coyotes -- he held or shared 61 NHL records, had won four Stanley Cup rings and had left an indelible mark on the sport.
Vancouver-area officials have long wanted to host an Olympics, with Vancouver and Whistler bidding unsuccessfully for the 1976 Winter Games, which went to Innsbruck, Austria.
Picturesque Salzburg is breathing down the Canadians' necks with a bid characterised by Austria's experience in staging winter sports events. Some IOC members even make the Austrians favourite.
"I hope that's right... I think it will be a very tight race. Not only between Vancouver and Salzburg but also now Pyeongchang," Salzburg bid chief Egon Winkler said.
Former winter olympics champion Hermann Maier is also in town to promote the Salzburg bid.
Pyeongchang's 100-member delegation in Prague, led by Prime Minister Goh Kun, have promised one final publicity spurt in the Czech capital during the 115th IOC session, hoping to turn their city's lack of world recognition into a strength. South Korean IOC committee member Moon Won Ji said there would be a united team of North and South Koreans.
"So this a great opportunity that we can change from the division of the separation to the division of peace. So that's why we are strongly promoting this Olympism," he said. President Roh Moon-hyun has remained in South Korea but has issued his strongest public statement of support for the bid.
"It will be the best, biggest and most successful Winter Games the world has ever seen if Pyeongchang wins," he said.
Delegates from the three cities bidding for the 2010 Winter Games signed the Olympic Truce on Tuesday. The tradition of the Olympic Truce dates back to Ancient Greece in 9 BC when competing cities signed a truce to enable their athletes to travel to the Games without fear of attack.
The IOC decided to revive the concept to protect the interests of the athletes and sport in general. The first initiatives were launched by the IOC in 1992.
Since 1993, the United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly expressed its support for the IOC by unanimously adopting, every two years, one year before each edition of the Olympic Games, a resolution entitled "Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal".
Through this symbolic resolution, the U.N. invites its member states to observe the Olympic Truce individually or collectively. More than 250 have signed the truce, including heads of state, religious leaders and other dignitaries.
Bureau Report
Meanwhile, South Korea's Pyeongchang is hoping to pull off a shock win with their promise of a united Korean team. However, the general consensus among IOC members is that the honour of staging the Games is Vancouver's to lose, having received the most favourable assessment from the IOC's evaluation commission last month.
Wayne Gretzky, former NHL star and an Olympian in 1998, is part of the Canadian bid committee for Vancouver, and is in the Czech capital to help with the lobbying.
"It's nerve-racking...We haven't got our game faces on yet, but we're getting to that point," Gretzky said on Tuesday. As general manager of the Canadian team in 1998, he showed he had the golden touch, overseeing the creation of a squad that went unbeaten through the tournament to capture the Olympic title.
When he left the game as a player -- he is currently the general manager of the Phoenix Coyotes -- he held or shared 61 NHL records, had won four Stanley Cup rings and had left an indelible mark on the sport.
Vancouver-area officials have long wanted to host an Olympics, with Vancouver and Whistler bidding unsuccessfully for the 1976 Winter Games, which went to Innsbruck, Austria.
Picturesque Salzburg is breathing down the Canadians' necks with a bid characterised by Austria's experience in staging winter sports events. Some IOC members even make the Austrians favourite.
"I hope that's right... I think it will be a very tight race. Not only between Vancouver and Salzburg but also now Pyeongchang," Salzburg bid chief Egon Winkler said.
Former winter olympics champion Hermann Maier is also in town to promote the Salzburg bid.
Pyeongchang's 100-member delegation in Prague, led by Prime Minister Goh Kun, have promised one final publicity spurt in the Czech capital during the 115th IOC session, hoping to turn their city's lack of world recognition into a strength. South Korean IOC committee member Moon Won Ji said there would be a united team of North and South Koreans.
"So this a great opportunity that we can change from the division of the separation to the division of peace. So that's why we are strongly promoting this Olympism," he said. President Roh Moon-hyun has remained in South Korea but has issued his strongest public statement of support for the bid.
"It will be the best, biggest and most successful Winter Games the world has ever seen if Pyeongchang wins," he said.
Delegates from the three cities bidding for the 2010 Winter Games signed the Olympic Truce on Tuesday. The tradition of the Olympic Truce dates back to Ancient Greece in 9 BC when competing cities signed a truce to enable their athletes to travel to the Games without fear of attack.
The IOC decided to revive the concept to protect the interests of the athletes and sport in general. The first initiatives were launched by the IOC in 1992.
Since 1993, the United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly expressed its support for the IOC by unanimously adopting, every two years, one year before each edition of the Olympic Games, a resolution entitled "Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal".
Through this symbolic resolution, the U.N. invites its member states to observe the Olympic Truce individually or collectively. More than 250 have signed the truce, including heads of state, religious leaders and other dignitaries.
Bureau Report