The 2016 candidate cities are good, not great or promising. My take...
Chicago's bid: Even though they never hosted the Summer Olympics(SO), they were elected to do so in 1904. But Pres. Theodore Roosevelt wanted the S.O. to be held in St. Loius. Why? Because the world's fair was being held there. And Paris did the same thing in 1900. The IOC did hesitate but gave in to their request. Wrong decision. The IOC were so upset b/c Tug-of-war and potato sack races were performed. That outraged the IOC that in 1906 they held an unofficial Olympics in Athens. The US was not invited!
Pro: Strong television coverage. Good multi-purpose Olympic stadium.
Con: History w/ the IOC. Venues are too scattered w/ limited transportation infastructure.
Prediction....Chicago will be eliminates in the first round vote.
Madrid's Bid: This is Madrid's second time around when they lost in the third round of elimination for the race for the 2012 Games. Barcelona is the only Spanish city to host the SO, in 1992 (I was there and it was the best). Their bid has their venues concentrated in three major areas that are easily accesible by a fairly good subway and bus system within a 20 km distance.
Pro: Second time around with major restructuring of their bid. Strong infastructure of hotels and transportation.
Con: Weak venue plan, a lot of the venues need to be built or revamped. Too close to the London games of 2012.
Predicition...Madrid will be eliminated in the second round.
Rio's Bid...This is the first time Rio has made it on the short list. What really helped Rio was the successful Pan Am Games in '07. Like Madrid, their venues are located in three major sections with the Olympic stadium and Village located in the center. They are easily accessible by rail system. If they won the bid, they would be the first South American city to host the SO.
Pro: Great telivision coverage. Successful Pan AM games. Would be the first host city in S.A. Most of the venues are built.
Con: High crime in some parts of Rio. First time to the short list. Questionable funding from Gov't, or lack there of.
Predicition.... Rio will be eliminated in the final round.
Tokyo's bid... This is the first time for their bid since they hosted the SO in 1964. Their bid is known as the 10km Olympics, b/c every venue and competition will be held within 10km from the Olympic Stadium and Village. Everything will be accessible by subway system. They are improving existing venues from the 1964 SO including the original Olympic Stadium. They will be building necessary venues since more games have been added. With Japans innovation in land reclamation, the Olympic stadium and village will be built on Tokyo Bay!
Pro: Close proximity of venues for everyone. Excellent infastructure all around! Past SO experiences from 1964.
Con: Too close from Beijing games. Congestion on streets and subways.
Predicition....
Tokyo Will Be The Host City for 2016!!!!!
Sorry guys... I want Chicago to win but you know... their BID stinks! There are too many variables that the IOC will say no. You guys have a great advirtisement program, but your program is not up to par to Rio's and Tokyo's. After Atlanta's fiasco with traffic and congestion, the IOC is looking at the compactness of the games. Chicago doesn't have it!!!!! Better luck next time!!!!
See for yourself...
http://www.chicago2016.org
http://www.madrid2016.es
http://www.rio2016.org.br
http://www.tokyo.or.jp (broken link)
I'm the ultimate Olympics Geek!!!!
Welcome to City-Data.com forum! Make sure to register - it's free and very quick! You have to register before you can post and participate in our discussions with 700,000 other registered members. User profiles and some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your free account you will be able to customize many options, you will have the full access to over 15,000 posts/day about local topics and you will see fewer ads. 
Linear Mode
