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Chicago 2016

Chicago 2016 Update: Local committee adds two Olympic vets

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It looks like the Chicago 2016 committee is adding some much-needed firepower in its quest for the 2016 Olympics.

Atlanta-based attorney Charles H. Battle Jr. and Luciano Barra were recruited by Chicago 2016 to help the bid along.

Battle, according to the Chicago Tribune, led international relations for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. He also has a long resume of Olympic-related consulting gigs, including work on Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010, New York’s 2012 bid and Sochi 2014.

Barra is known for turning around the Turin 2006 Olympic effort; his European connections and fluency in four languages should also help the bid.

“They are assets on the international side, but really they are assets in a broad sense, because they have been broadly and deeply involved in other bids,” Chicago 2016 bid leader Patrick Ryan told the Tribune.

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Chicago 2016

Chicago 2016 Update: Chicago, Tokyo bids eerily similar

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Check out this piece from today’s Chicago Tribune about how the Tokyo 2016 and Chicago 2016 bids are similar.

The big difference, according to reporters Kathy Bergen and Naoko Nishiwaki: Tokyo has a lot further to go in getting locals behind their Olympic bid.

Thing is, Tokyo has a lot more business might. And Japan last hosted the Summer Games in 1964, in Tokyo. (They also hosted the 1998 Nagano and 1972 Sapporo Winter Games.)

But check this out: Tokyo’s Olympic Village would be privately constructed on a landfill island in Tokyo Bay It would be converted to rental apartments and condominiums after the Games.

Also, boasting 47 rail and subway lines with 290 stations, Tokyo’s public transportation system kicks butt. “[Tokyo’s] public transportation puts us to shame,” said Laura Hein, a Japanese history professor at Northwestern, in the story. “They continue to fund public transit, even when they are having economic problems.”

What the Chicago 2016 bid does have going for it, according to the story, is Mayor Richard M. Daley. By contrast, Tokyo’s mayor, Shintaro Ishihara, is considered by many to be racist.

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Chicago 2016

Chicago 2016 Update: USOC chief: ‘We are not leading this parade at all’

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Interesting.

Earlier today, United States Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth said Chicago 2016 had a long way to go in its bid.

Philip Hersh of the Chicago Tribune reported Ueberroth met with Mayor Richard M. Daley today and voiced his displeasure. He said the Chicago 2016 committee needed to focus its efforts on wooing the International Olympic Committee instead of concentrating on the bid’s technical aspects.

I wonder what really was going through his head when he met with Daley. Any ideas?

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Chicago 2016

Chicago 2016 Update: Olympic chief to stop by Windy City

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Andrew Herrmann of the Chicago Sun-Times reported today that Jacques Rogge, head of the International Olympic Committee, will come to Chicago for the AIBA World Boxing Championships in late October.

Herrmann reported that Rogge evidently was impressed by Rio de Janeiro when he visited for the Pan-Am Games over the summer.

More on this story when it develops, folks.

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Chicago 2016

Chicago 2016 Update: In Chicago, History Guides Bid for Games

Check out this interesting piece from today’s New York Times about the Chicago 2016 bid.

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Chicago 2016

Chicago 2016 Update: Chicago 2016 Committee marketers shuffled

Lew Lazare, the Chicago Sun-Times media columnist reported the following earlier today:

Gordon Kane

Gordon Kane (pictured), who was one of the top executives in the Chicago 2016 marketing unit, left to work on the upcoming world boxing competitionships set for Chicago. Kane evidently will continue to advise the city’s Olympic committee as a consultant.

Mark Mitten, who was responsible for developing the city’s new Olympic star logo, unveiled last week, and the various videos used to impress United States Olympic Committee members, is now in charge of all the 2016 committee’s marketing initiatives.

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Chicago 2016

Welcome Sun-Times readers! (Re: Yesterday’s Chicago 2016 logo post)

If you decided to visit my page today after seeing it quoted on page nine of today’s Chicago Sun-Times, I want to welcome you to my site!

Of course, if you’re a regular reader, you’re always welcome. (But you should have seen the Sun-Times snippet. Kidding.)

Anyway, an excerpt from yesterday’s blog post on the new Chicago 2016 logo was featured as the number one response in the blogosphere for the paper’s daily “Lightning Rod” department.

Isn’t that dandy?

Anyway, new readers, this is the number one Chicago 2016 blog (just check Google).

Please come back often!

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Chicago 2016

Chicago 2016 Update: NEW OLYMPIC LOGO UNVEILED

What do you think?

Here’s an interactive page from the folks at Chicago 2016 about the logo’s symbolism.

I’m not sure this one really captures my — or anyone else’s — imagination. If anything, if the games Games had are awarded to Chicago, the committee could revert back to the old logo.

(On a somewhat fun note, I noticed that the Chicago 2016 Web folks need to make some updates, as this appears to be one of the site’s main landing pages. Oops!)

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Chicago 2016

Chicago 2016 Update: 2016 Olympic bid cities announced

2016 Update

And then there were seven.

Chicago officially has some stiff competition for the 2016 Olympics. Baku, Doha, Madrid, Prague, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo are also in the running with the Windy City.

Now what happens? The first phase, known as the Candidature Acceptance Procedure, will feature a review by the International Olympic Committee of each city’s potential to organize a successful Olympic Games in 2016. The second phase, the Candidature Procedure, will have city Olympic committees submit in-depth descriptions of their Olympic projects.

(You probably don’t want to read these 100+ page procedures, but I linked you to them anyway, just in case!)

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Chicago 2016

Chicago 2016 Update: USOC submits Chicago 2016 application to IOC

2016 Update

The United States Olympic Committee formally submitted its bid for the 2016 Olympics to the International Olympic Committee last week.

Chicago 2016 committee members submitted their letter of intent to USOC President Peter Ueberroth and Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr, who in turn submitted it to IOC President Jacques Rogge.

“The USOC has given us an opportunity to showcase Chicago around the world and to advance the Olympic Movement,” said Mayor Richard M. Daley in a press conference. “We are looking forward to working with the International Olympic Committee and convincing them why we believe Chicago is the best host city for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games”.

Other National Olympic committees have until Sept. 13 to submit their letters to the IOC, and cities likely to formally declare their candidacies, prior to the deadline include Rio de Janeiro; Madrid; Tokyo; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan.