Friday, August 6, 2004

In a blink of an eye, the 2004 Olympic Summer Games will be a distant memory, but fortunately, the Olympic spirit lives on. Just as these Games will quickly come to a close, all eyes will turn toward the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy and the 2008 Olympic Summer Games in Beijing, China. But it doesn't stop there, candidate sites have already been discussed for the next two Olympics following 2008... and one of those sites is in our own backyard.

Beginning almost four years ago, several cities in the United States began campaigning to be the overall United States candidate for the 2012 Olympic Summer Games. After several discussions and votes by the US Olympic Committee, the winning candidate was none other than New York City. Following additional votes at the international level, New York City is now one of five finalists in a pool of impressive international sites.

I, along with tens of thousands of other grass roots American team members nationwide, have been notifying others of New York City's viability as a excellent site candidate. Below I've posted a recent article that outlines the finalist process for the 2012 Olympic Summer Games. If you are interested in getting involved at a grass roots level or just finding out more about New York City's bid, click on the logo icon below.

Long live the Olympic spirit!

IOC Selects NYC2012 as Finalist
By International Olympic Committee // May 18, 2004

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Paris, New York, Moscow, London, and Madrid were today accepted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board in Lausanne as Candidate Cities to host the Games of the XXX Olympiad in 2012. The decision was made following discussions that led to a unanimous consensus. The cities were accepted from a total of nine Applicant Cities, which also included Leipzig (GER), Istanbul (TUR), Havana (CUB), and Rio de Janeiro (BRA).

The Candidate Cities were selected after a study of their application submitted earlier this year on 15 January. The study was made by a working group comprising Olympic Games experts who made a technical assessment of each Applicant City's ability to stage successful Olympic Games in 2012.

The technical assessment was based on 25 questions which included the areas of Government Support and Public Opinion, General Infrastructure, Sports Venues, Olympic Village, Environmental Conditions and Impact, Accommodation, Transport, Security, Experience from Past Sports Events, Overall Project and Legacy. The full report made by the working group is available on the IOC website, www.olympic.org.

The five Candidate Cities now have until 15 November 2004 to submit their Candidature File to the IOC. Candidate Cities will benefit from a detailed Observer Programme throughout the Games in Athens. The Candidature Files will be analysed in detail by an IOC Evaluation Commission, which will also visit the Candidate Cities, before issuing a report one month prior to the election.

The final decision on the host city for the Games of the XXX Olympiad will be made by the full IOC (International Olympic Committee) membership during the 117th IOC Session in Singapore in July 2005.