New York Times
July 6, 2005
New York Bid Falls Short as London Is Chosen for Olympics
By LYNN ZINSER
Video: Ali in Singapore to Support New York Bid
Trafalgar Square celebrated London's Olympic victory. Earlier, some in Rockefeller Center dealt with New York's defeat.
SINGAPORE, July 6 - In a surprising upset over front-running Paris, London snatched away the 2012 Olympics today, capping a comeback in a bidding race it seemed nearly out of just a year ago.
The former British Olympian Sebastian Coe re-energized London's chances when he took over and led a hard-charging campaign to bring the Games back to Britain after two failed bids by Manchester and one by Birmingham.
In London, fighter jets trailed red, white and blue smoke - the colors of the British flag - and several thousand shrieked and danced at Trafalgar Square when news of the city's victory was broadcast via several large video screens.
"This is a momentous day for London," Prime Minister Tony Blair said.
The announcement in Paris was met with stunned silence and a light rain began to fall. A crowd that had swelled to several thousand as the decisive moment neared, melted away quietly. Little anger was visible, but Katherine Bellouche of the Department of Tourism used the French words for "injustice" and "deception" when London was awarded the Games. Asked why Paris lost, she said, "I can't explain."
On the Fox television program "Good Day New York," Donald Trump suggested that disparaging comments President Jacques Chirac of France had made about England on Sunday may have swung the balance. "How stupid can you be?" Mr. Trump said, referring to Mr. Chirac's joke in which he told President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of Germany that the only British contribution to European agriculture had been mad cow disease.
The other finalists, Moscow, Madrid and New York, were knocked out in earlier rounds.
New York officials had been optimistic after their final presentation, which had many I.O.C. members expressing admiration for the combination sales pitch and emotional appeal based on New York's international flavor and economic power. The city's bid had also seemed to get a lift from the arrival of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday, who met dozens of I.O.C. members and seemed to charm her audiences.
But the bid seemed to have been damaged over the past months by a preoccupation with a proposed stadium on the west side of Manhattan, which suffered an embarrassing political defeat a month ago. New York's Deputy Mayor and bid organizer Daniel R. Doctoroff tried to regain momentum with a new plan centered on a stadium in Queens, but New York's effort failed to gain ground on Paris and London, long considered to be the front-runners.
In Singapore today, the city's Olympic bid delegation - a group of about 300 people - watched the vote tally on a giant projector screen in a wing of the Ritz Carlton hotel. Guests sipped wine and nibbled on dumplings, spicy fish sausages and croissant-wrapped shrimp in what was a generally giddy atmosphere stoked by the perception that the team's presentation was a show stopper. But when the losing results came in however, the room fell into a prolonged, stunned silence, according to people who were there.
In its last pitch before the members, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg had tried to head off claims by other cities that New York would be back to compete for the 2016 Games. The mayor vigorously argued that he could only guarantee this leadership team and this plan for 2012.
New York opened its final pitch for the Games with a video celebrating ethnic diversity and closed with a moving portrait of a torch being run through the city. The presentation stressed the city's international flavor, its organizers' enthusiasm, the economic lift the Games would give the Olympics and made a small emotional reference to Sept. 11, 2001.
Mr. Doctoroff, began by nervously recounting the story of his Olympic dream, which began at a World Cup soccer match in the Meadowlands 11 years ago when he said he was overwhelmed by the spirit of Italian and Bulgarian fans who filled Giants Stadium.
"We are a city that wraps its arms around you," Mr. Doctoroff told the I.O.C. members. "When you score a perfect 10, the crowd will rise and cheer, no matter where you are from."
New York followed Paris in the presentations, an order that was decided by a random drawing. The French presentation had an artistic flair, with an aerial tour of the city and Olympic rings floating around its landmarks. President Jacques Chirac of France and Mayor Bertrand Delanoe of Paris made emotional pleas to bring the Games to their city on its third modern bid.
In New York's sales pitch, Olympians Janet Evans and Bob Beamon took the stage to describe the Olympic sites and the plan for each Olympic sport. New York also had videos with testimony from dozens of athletes, from the tennis star Serena Williams and the boxer Sugar Ray Leonard to the basketball star Magic Johnson and the cycling champion Lance Armstrong, in describing the plans for the Olympic sites.
Former President Bill Clinton appeared via video, as did President Bush. Mayor Bloomberg emphasized that the new Olympic stadium plan had been approved.
"Let me be clear, we are going ahead and building this stadium," Mr. Bloomberg said. "It is going ahead because New Yorkers never give up. Not now, not ever."
Senator Clinton told I.O.C. members: "2012 is the right time for New York. And it's the right time to experience New York."
Mr. Bloomberg veered briefly from the New York strategy of avoiding mention of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Late in his remarks, he highlighted New York's rebound from the tragedy, and the final video, which followed a torch runner through the city, showed a tiny clip of a child's drawing of the Twin Towers with the words, written in crayon, "The sky was so blue."
As the final video faded to black, the NYC2012 logo appeared on the screen with the words, "Thank you."
"What we tried to say was, this is New York," Mr. Bloomberg said afterward. "We've never tried to be anything other than what we are."
The question-and-answer portion had a tense moment when an I.O.C. member from Syria, Samih Moudallal, pointedly asked Mr. Doctoroff, "Would the athletes and the officials of these countries on the terrorist list, will they be allowed to enter the United States of America?" He went on to reference what he said were problems Syria had obtaining a visa for one of its Paralympic athletes during the 1996 Games in Atlanta.
Dr. Jacques Rogge, the president of the International Olympic Committee, rebuked Mr. Moudallal, telling him, "You should not come back to issues of the past for which New York is not responsible."
Still, Mr. Doctoroff chose to answer, saying there was "absolutely no question" all nations would be welcomed. He told of the Iranian wrestling team's visit to the wrestling world championships when they were held in New York City in 2003. "I will never forget the Iranian team competing in New York in front of packed crowds of Iranian fans," Mr. Doctoroff said.
New York was followed by Moscow, which came nowhere near the professional quality of New York, but did place a heavy emphasis on the Russian love of sports and its Olympic success. Organizers played a video from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, in which he spoke in faltering English. Moscow officials said it was a Russian leader's first-ever public address in English.
Paris had begun its presentation with a note of humility, a nod to the criticism that its past two bids were too arrogant and turned off an organization that prefers to be wooed.
"Each defeat has served to increase our determination," Mr. Delanoe said, in French. Then, in another nod to previous criticisms about their reluctance to speak English, he spoke a few sentences in English: "I want to thank you for setting the bar so high and pushing us further toward excellence."
President Chirac, who did not attend the presentation for the last Paris bid, in 2001, made the most emotional appeal. He emphasized his long relationship with many I.O.C. members and talked about the French people's desire to host the Games. "I shall vouch for this," he said in French. "You can put your trust in France. You can trust the French. You can trust us."
But at heart, the presentation was built around Paris pouring its heart into its third and presumably final bid. "Paris wants the Games," Mr. Delanoe said in closing. "Paris needs the Games. Paris has the love of the Games."
In the question-and-answer session afterward, I.O.C. members asked about the anti-doping plans, guarantees for building the Olympic village and, bizarrely enough, the quality of French air conditioning.
London's presentation centered on the theme of inspiring young people. Bid leader Sebastian Coe told the story of how he was moved to begin running when he watched the 1968 Mexico City Olympics on a tiny, black and white television. His career culminated in two Olympic gold medals.
"Thirty-five years later, I stand before you still inspired by the Olympic movement," he said.
London's film promoted the diversity of its people and the iconic backdrop of its venues. It also stressed the uniqueness of its plan to put the Olympic village within the confines of its Olympic park.
But the presentation kept coming back to children, including the 30 that organizers brought along from East London, the area planned for massive regeneration if the Games are awarded to the British capital.
"More than six million young people visit our city every year, and more of them choose our city for their education than any other," said London Mayor Ken Livingstone. "If you wish to mobilize the youth of the world, start in London."
Madrid's presentation was the least professional, relying on still photos with type superimposed for most of its visuals, as opposed to higher-quality video used by the other bids. Madrid saved its sports plans for last, with a few athletes involved in the presentation. It was the only bid to feature a Paralympian, Gema Hassen-Bey.
Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain made a presentation, as did Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon, who ventured to speak some English. They emphasized that Madrid is the largest European capital yet to host a Games and that the public support numbers have been higher than any other city's.
"Madrid will be a fiesta," Mr. Ruiz-Gallardon said. "We have been celebrating the Olympic spirit for 50 years now."
Queen Sofia finished the presentation, stressing her family's commitment to sports.
The presentation order was decided by random drawing, with each city given 45 minutes for a presentation and 15 minutes to answer questions from I.O.C. members. Paris went first, followed by New York, Moscow, London and Madrid.
The voting proceeded by rounds, with the city receiving the least number of votes being dropped after every round.
British and French journalists working at the G-8 summit meeting at Gleneagles, Scotland, reacting to the decision by the International Olympic Committee.
A crowd in London's Trafalgar Square reacted to the announcement that only the British capital and Paris remained in the running for the 2012 Games.
President Jacques Chirac of France spoke on behalf of the Paris bid, which was favored to win today's vote.
Mayor Bloomberg during his presentation to the I.O.C. in Singapore.
A worker prepared a stage in Singapore Tuesday as international delegates convened to choose a city for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
