Lots of Olympic Information Floating Around

It's a big week for the 2016 Bid Cities! The final bid books are due to the IOC this Friday, February 13th. With that said, there are a lot of articles talking about each cities respective bids. So here are a couple links and our take on each one:

Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio in race for the 2016 Olympics - The Times UK
Claims Chicago is the front-runner (which is being said in many other articles). Mentions Barack Obama as a big wild card and goes on to say:

Olympic insiders say the new American president need only show up for the IOC vote in Copenhagen in October and Chicago will sweep aside rivals Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.

If that's the case, it looks good for Chicago since all indications we've read state that he will be in Denmark, schmoozing with the IOC.

Tokyo aiming to woo 2016 Olympics with vow to use 'green energy' - Japan Today
The more we read about Tokyo's bid the more it sounds similar to Chicago's. Both tout their compactness and efforts to provide a 'green' and 'sustainable' games. The problem for Chicago...Tokyo's bid seems to do address both attributes better. The problem for Tokyo...the 2008 games were in Beijing. Will the IOC want to go back to an Asian city so quickly?

Let the 'Games' Begin - Forbes
Surprise, surprise, the conservative magazine Forbes warns of the monetary issues associated with putting on the games. The article brings up many issues that are often cited by Olympic cynics. Prime examples are the next two scheduled Olympics in Vancouver (2010) and London (2012) which are both running into big issues as their projected costs skyrocket (mostly due to the current climate of the economy).

"Safest Choice" Madrid 2016 Presents Bid to IOC - Gamesbid.com
First we've heard this designation, but if it's true it probably is good for Madrid given the current world economy. Main problem for Madrid? The summer games will be in London in 2012. Again, will the IOC want back-to-back summer games in Europe?

Racism could compromise Madrid's bid for Olympics and World Cup - The Canadian Press
Wow, this is a pretty amazing article. Although we're not naive enough to think racism doesn't occur, it's pretty remarkable how prevalent this article makes it seem in Madrid. Will this seriously jeopardize the bid? We will see...

Support for Chicago Olympics tempered by opposition to using taxes for games - Chicago Tribune
According to a poll by the Chicago Tribune, it seems as if residents have cooled on the bid a little bit. 64% support the bid, while 28% oppose it. However, 75% say they oppose using tax payer dollars to fund the bid. Given the economy this isn't a surprise. Also, Mayor Daley has also said no tax payer dollars would be used. Will this happen? Our guess is no...we still support the Olympics, however we realize tax payers will probably have to foot a piece of the bill.