IOC Members Vote To Award 2012 Olympic Games To London

London To Host 2012 Olympics

IOC President Jacques Rogge announced this morning that London will host the 2012 Olympic Games. London topped Paris 54-50 in the fourth and final round of voting among IOC members. Moscow was eliminated first with 15 votes, while N.Y. was ousted in the second round with 16 and Madrid in the third round with 31 (AP, 7/6).

LONDON: London 2012 Chair Sebastian Coe said, “We have a chance over seven years and way beyond that to change the face of British sport.” British Culture Minister Tessa Jowell, who will become the country’s Olympics Minister, added, “This is the biggest prize sport can bestow and we won it for London and this is to unlock the ambition of children. Sport will now be central to Government policy” (LONDON2012.org). In Manchester, Mark Oliver writes London, which previously hosted the Games in 1908 and 1948, “will become the first city to host [the Olympics] three times” (Manchester GUARDIAN, 7/6). Puerto Rican IOC member Richard Carrion, appearing this morning on ESPN2’s “Cold Pizza,” said London “had some momentum” going into the vote. Carrion: “I think [British Prime Minister] Tony Blair being here and spending some time with the members was important.” Carrion also said London “got the majority” of votes from members who voted for N.Y. and Madrid (ESPN2, 7/6).

NYC2012: A statement on the NYC2012 Web site reads, “NYC2012 would like to congratulate London on its selection as the Host City for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It has been a great race and an honor to compete with London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris. We would like to say a special thank you to New Yorkers and all of our supporters around the world for their steadfast support” (NYC2012.com). N.Y. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the “Olympic bid made our city better. It heightened the city’s Olympic spirit and catalyzed important city projects” (AP, 7/6). U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said the failed bid is “very difficult to analyze. I’m not going to be looking into the minds of anyone who cast a vote" (AP, 7/6).

WHAT WENT WRONG? ESPN’s Dave Roberts said “a lot of people are talking about” the change in the location of N.Y.’s stadium. Roberts: “I think really that was where New York's bid shot itself in the foot” (“Cold Pizza,” ESPN2, 7/6). USA Today’s Christine Brennan, appearing on ABC’s “GMA,” said the uncertainty surrounding N.Y.’s bid “gave voters who wanted to go against New York ... their excuse, their out, so to speak. And Vancouver is hosting the Winter Olympics in 2010, so they would have come right back to North America in 2012 if they came to New York” (“GMA,” ABC, 7/6).

Will Bloomberg And Company Try For 2016 Games?

POLITICS: In N.Y., Filip Bondy writes the reason for N.Y.’s “quick dismissal could be simple: The bid wasn’t technically up to snuff.” But the bid’s downfall “could be more complicated, involving an international slap at George W. Bush’s unilateral attitude toward the world.” It could also be a “combination of factors, including IOC political alliances and simple continental rotation” (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 7/6). The Washington Post’s Amy Shipley, appearing on MSNBC, said, “There is absolutely no doubt that politics played a major role in this vote. While Paris and London were considered front runners, New York also had a very strong bid.” Shipley said N.Y. “would be the front-runner going into 2016. The question is, is New York going to bid again. ... The reality is there is a question of political will in that city” (MSNBC, 7/6).

LOOKING AHEAD: IOC member Carrion said N.Y. “did a great job, they had good people working on the bid, and I think that they should try again for 2016” (“Cold Pizza,” ESPN2, 7/6). Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games CEO Billy Payne: “I just hope [N.Y. has] the patience and the commitment to go on to 2016” (REUTERS, 7/6). Bloomberg: "It was a unique opportunity for [N.Y.] ... I don't know what's going to happen down the road." USOC Chair Peter Ueberroth said that N.Y. “would not gain any special status if it entered the race” for 2016. Ueberroth: “We will have a new process for the next four years. We’ll open it up” (AP, 7/6). N.Y. Deputy Mayor and NYC2012 Founder Dan Doctoroff: “You can never say never. ... I believe we had a fantastic combination of forces in our favor right now. This was our moment, but whether or not to bid again is for another day" (REUTERS, 7/6). The N.Y. DAILY NEWS’ Bondy writes N.Y.’s defeat “was so complete, so devastating, that it may discourage a second go-round, a reincarnation as NYC2016 for this team of politicos and developers. Frankly, no city has ever won the Olympics after such a poor first showing” (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 7/6).

MEDIA COVERAGE: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir writes the primary difference between a U.S. and European Olympics “would be that the former would have a lot of live events in prime time, the latter little or none.” But the debate over live vs. tape-delay was “largely mitigated last year when NBC vastly expanded its coverage from Athens far beyond its broadcast network to CNBC, MSNBC, USA, Bravo and Telemundo.” NBC Universal Sports & Olympics Chair Dick Ebersol said for the 2012 Games, “more than half will be live across all platforms.” But Ebersol added, “The main sports — swimming, gymnastics and track — we’ll hold them in some form for prime time because that’s where the audience will be” (N.Y. TIMES, 7/6). NBC Universal Chair & CEO Bob Wright appeared on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” where he said, “We were prepared for either London or Paris. ... We have extensive experience in both cities — every year we have Wimbledon in London and the French Open in Paris. We have a large news bureau, we have a very big presence in London, so I think we’re going to be just fine in London” (CNBC, 7/6).