Five Finalists Submit Bid Books For 2012 Olympic Games

London’s Bid Gets Hand-Delivered In Lausanne

The IOC received the bid books for all five candidate cities — London, N.Y., Madrid, Moscow and Paris — for the 2012 Olympic Games (IOC). In N.Y., Duff Wilson notes the two “major steps remaining in the process are visits to each city by an 11-member IOC Evaluation Commission and a vote by the 122 members of the [IOC] on July 6 in Singapore.” Meanwhile, USOC Chair Peter Ueberroth announced that N.Y. Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and NYC2012 Founder Daniel Doctoroff will serve as the unpaid President & CEO of the N.Y. Olympics Organizing Committee if the city is selected. Wilson notes previous criticism of N.Y.’s bid “was that it was too costly and complicated, and in the case of its stadium plans, controversial.” The NYC2012 budget is $3.7B, not including privately-financed athletes’ village in Queens or $1.8B for the proposed West Side stadium (N.Y. TIMES, 11/16). Doctoroff, on whether Cablevision President & CEO James Dolan’s opposition to a stadium would cost the city the Olympics: “He’s certainly doing everything that he possibly can to try. We’re not going to let that happen” (N.Y. POST, 11/16).

FRENCH KISS: The AP reported that British bookmaker Ladbrokes has installed Paris as a 1-2 favorite to land the Games, with London at 3-1, Madrid at 4-1, N.Y. at 14-1 and Moscow at 33-1 (AP, 11/15). But Ueberroth, who “pegged Paris as the city to beat,” called N.Y. ranking fourth “ludicrous” (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/16). In Toronto, Jim Byers writes Paris has been accused “of arrogance in the past but the French this time are playing a modest, ‘we’ll just hope for the best’ kind of tune” (TORONTO STAR, 11/16).