The IOC's PR firm Hill & Knowlton is "now also vying to
represent" the Toronto bid committee in its effort to land
the 2008 Summer Games, according to Stefan Fatsis of the
WALL STREET JOURNAL. Hill & Knowlton is "one of four
finalists scheduled to make presentations today" to the
Toronto bid group. If it wins the job, the firm "will
represent both the IOC and an organization whose first order
of business will be to lobby" the IOC for the rights to hold
the Games. Hill & Knowlton's contract with the IOC
"specifically allows it to work for an Olympics bidder."
Ron Hartwig, a spokesperson for the firm, said that "no
company employee involved in the IOC job can work on the
Toronto effort," and that the firm discussed the matter with
both the IOC and the Toronto bid group. Hartwig: "We
believe that there is no conflict or we would not have taken
on the business." Industry execs estimate the Toronto
account could "generate as much" as $1M in billings until
the IOC selects the site of the 2008 Games in 2001. While
this type of relationship is not "uncommon" in the PR field,
some observers feel the IOC needs to be "extra vigilant
about the public perception of its relationship" in the wake
of the current bid scandal (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 2/23).
