|
 "We
won the world, so hooray!"
Pre-vote favourites Vancouver won the 2010 Winter Olympics yesterday
by three votes in a nail biting finish against South Korea's Pyeongchang.
In the first round Korea nearly snatched victory winning 51 votes,
Vancouver trailed with 40 and Salzburg crashed out after only collecting
16 votes. Four more votes and Pyeongchang would have won in the
first round with an overall majority.
 The
election wasn't without controversy -several members didn't vote,
which could have swung the result the other way. "It
was a photo finish, that's what is so great about sport. But winning
is winning'' said Canadian PM Jean Chretien. "We won the world,
so hooray! I just want to guarantee everybody that it will be a
great success.''
IOC President Jacques Rogge commented that "the
Games are not just venues, bricks and mortar. You need expertise,
you need democracy, you need a stable economy, you need champions.
Vancouver had all that.''
Ski industry reactions
Within the ski industry the news has been met with mixed feelings.
"We are very disappointed that we didn't even make it past the first
round because we were considered equal to Vancouver. They tell you
it's a political sports strategy but we don't really know what that
means'' said Austrian Olympic downhill champion Franz Klammer.
Korean Disappointment
There is much disappointment in Korea. "It's such a pity. Our hosting
would have helped bring forward unification with North Korea'' said
Nam Sang-ryul, a Pyeongchang resident. Hahm Seung-heui, member of
South Korea's national assembly: "It's a surprise because our presentation
was wonderful, the most wonderful of the three. Our image was very
strong, an image of peace and universality. But some IOC members
didn't understand the message.'' The Koreans scored points with
a strong presentation stressing how the games could promote winter
sports in Asia and bring peace on the divided Korean peninsula.
Vancouver controversy
Canada has hosted two previous Olympics - the 1976 Summer Games
in Montreal and 1988 Winter Games in Calgary. Shares
of Intrawest Corp. rose as much as 7.5 percent after its ski resort
in Whistler was named the site for most of the skiing events of
the 2010 Winter Olympics. Whistler, about 125 kilometers north of
Vancouver, will be the site of the Alpine skiing, cross-country
skiing, bobsleigh and other events.
The winding highway linking Vancouver and Whistler
was seen as a weak point in the city's C$2 billion bid but the British
Columbia provincial government has vowed to spend C$600 million
to upgrade the road. There are mixed emotions locally as to whether
the event will bring the city financial success or high costs.
Competition for 2012 hots up
London's chances of staging the 2012 Olympics were strengthened
with the news of the Canadian city which means it is less likely
that the International Olympic Committee will elect a North American
city to host the 2012 games, weakening New York's chances. It also
rules out Toronto launching a strong bid.
Many believed that since the IOC likes to fairly
distribute the Olympics to different regions, it was North America's
turn. The 2004 Summer Olympics will be held in Athens, and the 2006
Winter Games are in Turin, Italy - just a few hours drive from Salzburg.
Asia has the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Awarding the 2010
Games to North America leaves Europe in a strong position for the
2012 Summer Olympics - at the expense of New York. Some members
say back-to-back games in North America are unlikely.
IOC President Jacques Rogge denied that politics had anything to
do with the Vancouver win. "This is pure speculation,'' he snapped.
"This so-called continental rotation, we don't believe in that.
In little more than 100 members, 40 have participated in an Olympic
Games," he added. "We have 25 Olympic champions in our ranks. And
they will vote for sport. They will not vote for politics."
London still hopeful
Barbara Cassani, chair of the London bid and attending her first
IOC meeting, said: "Many of my original thoughts have been clarified.
We need to have a world-class bid, incredible professionalism and
passion. Humility needs to be my middle name. All these cities bidding
did a terrific job." Jenny Jones, the Green Party deputy mayor of
London, has denounced the bid to stage the 2012 games, complaining
that it will be environmentally damaging and represents poor value
for money.
[Sources: Ctv.ca, Charleston Gazette, Reuters, Guardian
]
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