London Olympic Bidders Have Response for Recession

Cities from around the world have descended on Colorado to bid on being the next host of the Olympic Games, but the bid comes with new challenges.

In 2004, Olympic organizers for London were thrilled to learn the city would host the 2012 Summer Games. But they couldn’t predict that five years later, the cost of the games would triple.

Not long after Beijing hosted the world for two weeks in August, the cost of future Olympic games skyrocketed while the global economy tumbled.

A good part of private funding for London’s Olympic Games has vanished during the credit squeeze. One of the major corporate sponsors for the London games has also declared bankruptcy.

That is why the cities at the Sportaccord in Denver this week have a ready response to any question about the recession.

“We can offer, financially, the safest plan,” Mihoko Nakagawa with the Tokyo delegation said.

“We have identified our bid as the safest bid,” Mercedes Coghen with the Madrid delegation said.

“For Rio, the games are certain,” Carlos Osorio with the Rio de Janeiro delegation said.

Rio de Janeiro may look like the postcard vacation spot, but the head of Brazil’s Olympic committee says the country’s economy grew 5 percent last year and the city has the money in place.

“That means we can be very conservative in terms of sponsorship revenues forecast. We can also have the funds to start working on day one. We don’t need loans, we don’t need donations,” Osorio said.

Chicago is trying to become the first U.S. city since Salt Lake in 2002 to host the Olympics. Illinois lawmakers recently pledged to cover any losses, ranging up to $250 million for the city.

Right next door to Chicago’s booth is Tokyo’s. That city’s delegation says it already has the stadiums in place and $4 billion in the bank dedicated for the 2016 games.

“Fortunately, the city of Tokyo is very healthy budget wise,” Nakagawa said.

Madrid’s team is eager to show off a new tennis court with a retractable roof to prove Spain is ready to host again, even if the sponsors may not be because of the economy.

“For future bid cities, it’s going to be extremely difficult, I think,” Coghen said.

Thursday, the four cities bidding on the 2016 Summer Games will make their presentations in Denver. The winning city is announced in October.