Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Nov 22 2008

Sports opening new opportunities for dialogue among nations, says
President Gül

Making the opening remarks of the 37th general assembly of the
European Olympic Committees (EOC) on Friday, Turkish President
Abdullah Gül said sports offered an ideal opportunity for laying the
groundwork for dialogue among nations.

"I had the chance to visit Armenia for the first time, and a sports
event gave me this opportunity. It was the best example of sports
creating new grounds for dialogue among nations. Games are one of the
oldest and most important driving forces of friendly and peaceful
relations among countries and their nations," he said in his address
to the gathering.
The 37th general assembly of the EOC began in Ä°stanbul on the
centenary of the founding of Turkey’s National Olympic Committee
(TMOK). The two-day meeting at Ä°stanbul’s Hilton Exhibition Center
brings together delegations from national Olympic committees (NOCs) of
Europe, numerous sports federations and a great number of the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) members.

EOC President Patrick Hickey and Secretary-General Raffaele Pagnozzi
as well as IOC President Jacques Rogge are among participants of the
event giving the candidate cities for the 2016 Olympic Games a last
opportunity to meet the European delegates. During the meeting, the
four cities vying for the 2016 Summer Games got the chance to make
their case to the regional group with the most influence in the
Olympic movement.

Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro made presentations to the
general assembly of the European Olympic Committees (EOC), which
represents 50 countries and holds the balance of power in the Olympic
world.

"Most important, the audience of 500 delegates is expected to include
between 20 and 25 voting members of the IOC," EOC President Hickey
said.

It’s also the first bid presentations since the election of former
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama as US president, a potential major boost to
the bid from his hometown of Chicago. A video message from Obama,
taped since his election victory was included in Chicago’s 20-minute
delivery.

The full IOC will select the host city in a secret ballot in
Copenhagen on Oct. 2, 2009. But the campaign is already in full swing
as the cities prepare to submit their final bid documents to the IOC
in February. The cities made recent presentations to regional Olympic
groups in Acapulco and Bali, but the European meeting offers by far
the biggest chance yet for the candidates to get their message out to
key constituents.

IOC President Rogge, a Belgian and former head of the European body,
will be among those attending. More than a third of the IOC’s 100-plus
members are from Europe. The cities that have brought high-level
delegations to Ä°stanbul are out to impress the delegates with video
presentations and promises that they will offer financially secure
bids that can weather the current global financial crisis.

Obama’s election has changed the dynamics of the race. US President
George W. Bush’s unpopularity around the world was reflected in
Olympic politics, with New York soundly defeated in its bid for the
2012 Games and US influence declining in the IOC. Obama has been a
high-profile backer of the Chicago bid and lives a few blocks from the
planned 2016 Olympic stadium. He delivered his acceptance speech
before huge crowds in Grant Park, which is at the heart of the
proposed Olympic venues.

"President-elect Obama’s election has put a bright spotlight on
Chicago," bid leader Patrick Ryan said Thursday. "The fact that he is
managing the transition from Chicago continues to put a spotlight on
Chicago, and we look forward to his continued support." The Chicago
2016 committee is counting on Obama to attend next year’s IOC meeting
in Copenhagen to personally push for the bid. Chicago’s rivals are
adjusting to the Obama factor. Rio is even using his "Yes, we can" and
time-for-change slogan as an example of why the Olympics should go to
Brazil and South America for the first time.

"We also have a need for change in the Olympic movement," Rio bid
president and Brazilian Olympic Committee chief Carlos Nuzman
said. "The Olympic movement needs to go to all regions of the
world. South America is home to 400 million people, and one-third are
young people. The Olympic movement is ready for a historic change."
Rio, which hosted the 2007 Pan American Games, says Brazil will have
the world’s fifth-largest economy by 2016.

Madrid, which finished third behind winner London and Paris in the
vote for the 2012 Olympics, portrayed the Spanish capital Thursday as
the "safest choice for 2016" in light of the economic downturn. Bid
officials said 77 percent of the venues are ready, the candidacy is 90
percent toward its funding goal, the project is entirely underwritten
by the government, and city streets are "safe … day and night."
Tokyo, which hosted the 1964 Olympics and has rated highly in IOC
technical evaluations, said the Japanese government’s $100 billion
loan to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) showed how the games
would be financially secure.

22 November 2008, Saturday
TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH WIRES Ä°STANBUL