"Law and Order" Depiction of Rio 2016 Vote Buying and Corruption Causes Outrage

An episode from the American television series “Law and Order: Criminal Intent” has triggered outrage from the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic bid.

The show depicts an attempt by a firm with financial interests in Rio's bid to buy a vote from a member of the Olympic Committee of Belgium. When the member agrees, she ends up murdered in New York.

Globoesporte.com in Brazil says a Rio 2016 statement condemned the “irresponsible and reckless use of the image of the Brazilian candidate, who is on the campaign to host the games."

The episode entitled “The Glory that Was” originally aired on the USA Network and NBC in the United States on June 14 without much criticism. However, when it aired in Brazil on Thursday on AXN Network, many took notice. NBC owns the rights to broadcast the Olympic Games in United States.

Rio’s Mayor Eduardo Paes called the show “ridiculous and pathetic” when he spoke to O Globo. He told the newspaper that it could even damage IOC members whose work is completely transparent in relation to the election – and he said it may hinder the U.S. application (for the 2016 Olympics) and strengthen Rio’s campaign. Chicago is also bidding for the 2016 Games.

Law and Order – CI is in its eighth season after becoming a spin-off of the popular Law and Order franchise. The show stars renowned actor Jeff Goldblum and Julianne Nicholson whose characters team up to solve the crime.

The USA Network Website synopsis of the episode describes “the dark politics behind the Olympic Site Selection Committee” and how the show’s murder victim “was the vote he needed on the Olympic Site Selection Committee that would throw the Olympics to Rio.”

The IOC has worked hard over the past decade to clean up its image after the highly publicized vote buying scandal in 1998. The site selection process has been re-engineered and the IOC assures that bribery is a thing of the past. Although the Law and Order show is fictional, it could awaken bitter memories at a crucial and sensitive time of the 2016 Olympic bid.

The depiction of the corrupt IOC member as a member of the Belgian Olympic Committee could add to the sensitivity of the issue; the current President of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, was also the President of the Belgian Olympic Committee.

Rio and Chicago are also competing with Tokyo and Madrid to win the right to host the 2016 Olympics. The race is considered one of the closest in history and a single vote could be the difference between success and failure.

The winner will be determined by a vote of International Olympic Committee members on October 2 in Copenhagen. The high profile event will be attended by national leaders and royalty and perhaps even United States President Barack Obama. Via.

*Previously: Rio 2016 Desktop Wallpapers

Final Bid Books for the 2016 Summer Olympics Submitted

The final Bid Books for the 2016 Summer Games were submitted today. From what I have seen it seems like they've all submitted pretty nice plans. Madrid seems the least likely to win the bid considering the games in 2012 are right next door in London. Rio would be a nice pick because the games have never been held in South America. The Tokyo bid is very attractive and would be my second personal choice after Chicago. The winner will be announced on October 2nd this year.

MLB Owners briefed on Olympic re-entry

My Take: Bring it back! It's a shame it went away in the first place. I hope it returns in 2016 and wouldn't it be great made its return in a city like Chicago that has such a great history with the sport?!

From MLB.com:
Baseball owners were given a briefing about the possible re-entry of the sport into the 2016 Summer Olympics on Thursday by the president of the International Baseball Federation.

"The reaction was good," said Harvey Schiller, who addressed the owners at their first joint meeting of the year on Thursday. "They know it's within their best interests to get back into the Olympic program. The big statement is getting the best players in there."

This past November, Schiller was among a group of baseball officials who gave members of the International Olympic Committee assurances that an effort will be made to send some of the game's best professional players if it is reinstated as a gold medal sport.

Read the rest of the article here.

RIO 2016 Launches New Slogan

From RIO 2016:
Rio de Janeiro’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games invites athletes and sports fans from all around the world to share the Brazilian people’s passion for sport. The campaign slogan, “Live your passion,” will be launched at the 2009 New Year celebrations on Copacabana Beach in a dramatic manner: it will be projected onto a Rio 2016-themed Ferris wheel positioned at Copacabana Fort.

The slogan reflects the Brazilian people’s way of getting passionately involved in whatever they do. It also expresses the open and democratic manner with which the country welcomes different cultures, races, customs and religions. “The Rio 2016 bid is an open invitation for everyone to live their passion for sport in this marvelous city, whether as an athlete, official, journalist or spectator,” explained Leonardo Gryner, Rio 2016’s Marketing and Communications Director.

The slogan will be projected onto the Rio 2016 Wheel immediately after the ten-second countdown to the beginning of 2009. The Ferris wheel will open to the public on 2 January, precisely nine months before 2 October, when the International Olympic Committee will announce the Host City of the 2016 Olympics.

The Rio 2016 Wheel has 24 gondolas seating a total of 144 people in groups of six. One of the gondolas is accessible to people with disabilities. Each ride will average three minutes. As visitors get off, they will see a container identical to the one that will transport the official Rio 2016 documents to the International Olympic Committee, on which they may sign their names and leave messages. At the Rio 2016 Plaza, there will be a range of entertainment options and an exhibition on the bid. Every day from 11pm, images promoting Rio 2016 will be projected onto the wheel, and will be visible along the entire length of Copacabana beach.

Four cities chosen as 2016 Games candidates

My take: I would love to see either Tokyo or Chicago win! Madrid doesn't have a chance. Rio de Janeiro actually has a pretty good shot at it considering the support behind the bid and the fact that the games have never been held in South America.

From an IOC Press Release:
The International Olympic Committee announced today that Chicago (USA), Tokyo (Japan), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Madrid (Spain) have made it on to the shortlist of cities bidding to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Candidate Cities were accepted unanimously from seven Applicant Cities, which also included Prague (Czech Republic), Baku (Azerbaijan) and Doha (Qatar).

“All the bids were of a very high standard,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge. “It is a tribute to the health of the Olympic Movement that the field was so strong. I congratulate the Candidate Cities and I hope that those cities which were unsuccessful this time have benefited from the process.”

Rio 2016 Desktop Wallpapers

Along with a very appealing redesign of their bid website, Rio 2016 has posted desktop wallpapers among other downloads for fans. I've included one above... swing by the site to see more..

www.rio2016.org.br/en/

Doha 2016 Reveals Olympic Bid Logo

From GamesBids.com:
The Doha 2016 Olympic bid committee has revealed its campaign logo in a gala celebration today.

Along with the logo - a green and purple representation of an aldahma flower - is the tagline "celebrating change".

The bid committee describes the logo:

The Doha 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games Bid represents the hopes and aspirations of Qatar. The Bid is seen through the present, but also inspired by the past.

Qatar’s present is full of energy, driven by its booming economy and its highly-educated citizens. Qatar’s past is a rich heritage, deeply rooted in its people’s hearts and minds. The logo’s design represents the blossoming of these elements leading growth in Qatar.

The Aldahma – the ‘Flower of the Spring’ – was chosen to represent the vital and energetic spirit of the season. The Aldahma’s natural habitat in the sands of the desert draws a parallel with the vibrant and colourful life flourishing in the State of Qatar.

The calligraphy strokes making the words ‘Doha 2016’ are a unique manipulation of the traditional organic Henna patterns that women use to adorn their hands and arms as part of social and holiday celebrations.
The dynamic interaction between the Arabic calligraphy and the English type is an interpretation of modernity.

The logo is a welcoming message for a truly energetic and celebratory 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Doha.

The logo was created by students at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar (VCUQ).

The bid committee describes the tagline “Celebrating Change”:

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are among the world’s greatest celebrations. Celebration is about unity and friendship; it is about optimism and commemorating change; it is open, welcoming, fun and universally appealing; it overcomes barriers to cultures and peoples; it honours achievement.

Doha promises to host the greatest celebration the Olympic Movement has ever seen. The 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games will celebrate:

- the immensely positive social, economic and political changes that the Olympic Games would bring to this entire region – and to the wider world
- the new hope that hosting the Olympic Games in Doha will bring to this region and the changes that will blossom out of that hope
- the new friendships and understandings between competitors, spectators and people that will extend far beyond the Olympic Games themselves
- a new sporting future in the Arab world for millions of Arab sportsmen and women
- the momentous changes that have already taken place in Qatar – and will continue to take place thanks to hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Doha in 2016.

A 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games hosted by Doha will change the world. That will indeed be a change to celebrate.

www.doha2016.org

Ueberroth: Chicago 'third or fourth' among 2016 Olympic favorites

Associated Press
CHICAGO -- Chicago isn't the front-runner for the 2016 Olympics many are making it out to be. It's not even a close second.

With two years before the vote for the 2016 host, Chicago is third or fourth on the list of favorites, U.S. Olympic Committee chairman Peter Ueberroth said Thursday. Ahead of Chicago are Madrid, Spain; Tokyo; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

"It's not a criticism, it's a reality," Ueberroth said after meeting with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. "There's no criticism of Chicago 2016. I'm not saying they're doing anything wrong. I'm telling you they're in third or fourth place."

Baku, Azerbaijan; Doha, Qatar; and Prague, Czech Republic also are bidding for the Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee will choose the host city Oct. 2, 2009, at its session in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Chicago was thought to be the early favorite in the 2016 race, because the United States hasn't hosted a Summer Olympics since Atlanta in 1996. Although there's no official policy of rotating the games, Asia (Beijing) and Europe (London) will have just hosted Summer Olympics.

Chicago also has a solid bid, with venues located in a compact area downtown, many on picturesque Lake Michigan.

But all the cities will present strong bids, Ueberroth said. Chicago needs to sell itself to the 100-plus IOC members, and it needs to be doing it now.

Read more at ESPN.COM

Madrid 2016 unveils bid logo

Nine logos were put up for public vote over the summer of 2007. After being narrowed down to three finalists the winner was revealed yesterday. The logo is named "Corle" and represents a hand in the colors of the Olympics, welcoming foreigners to the games. It was designed by Argentinian Joaquin Malle.

A bit of info on bid itself from Wikipedia:
Madrid, the capital city of Spain, will be officially bidding for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Madrid bid before in 1972 and for the 2012 Olympic Games. Madrid's chances may be hurt by the selection of London, Great Britain, for the 2012 Olympic Games, convention being that successive games are rarely held on the same continent. However, the city's bid was so strong that they COE elected to bid again.

Here is a promotional video from their 2012 campaign:

Chicago 2016 unveils new bid logo

Chicago 2016’s bid committee veiled the new logo today in the great Windy City. Earlier in the year they were told by the IOC that their first logo, depicting the city's skyline in a stylized torch, broke their rules against including Olympic symbols in bidding logos.

From a Press release on the new logo:

“The strength of our new logo is that it connects Chicago’s history and passion with the spirit of the Olympic Movement. We hope the elements of this new symbol will inspire the young people of our city and the world to embrace the ideals and values learned through sport,” said Mayor Richard M. Daley. “This logo will become a great symbol of hope for our city and our nation as we work together to seek the privilege to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The logo’s central element is the Chicago Star, a symbol unique to Chicago which adorns the City flag. The logo is inspired by the ideals and values of the Olympic Movement and those of the city of Chicago. The six-points on the star represent hope, respect, harmony, friendship, excellence and celebration.

While I loved the first logo I find this a worth follow up considering the circumstances. It's better than the London 2012 logo for sure! Anything would be better than that logo. I should probably stop beating that dead horse at this point, but it's so disappointing that its hard not to. :\

Here is a video from the organization promoting both the new logo and the bid in general:

7 Applicant Cities for the 2016 Olympic Games

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is pleased to announce that 7 cities have been put forward by their respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to apply to host the Games of the XXXI Olympiad in 2016. The cities, in alphabetical order, are: Baku (Azerbaijan), Chicago (USA), Doha (Qatar), Madrid (Spain), Prague (Czech Republic), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Tokyo (Japan).*

NOCs had until 13 September 2007 to notify the IOC that a city within their jurisdiction was interested in applying.

The 7 Applicant Cities will now proceed to Phase 1 of the IOC’s two-step procedure, which will lead to the election of the 2016 host city in Copenhagen in October 2009.

* Phase 1, known as the Candidature Acceptance Procedure, involves a thorough review by the IOC of each city’s potential to organise successful Olympic Games in 2016. Cities are required to answer a questionnaire, and their answers are studied by the IOC. At the end of this first phase, the IOC Executive Board selects the cities that will become Candidate Cities and therefore move on to Phase 2.

* During Phase 2, known as the Candidature Procedure, Candidate Cities will be requested to submit their Candidature File – which is an in-depth description of their Olympic project – and will be subject to a technical assessment made by a visiting team – the IOC Evaluation Commission. The IOC Evaluation Commission’s appraisal will be published in a report, and sent to IOC members no later than one month before they cast their vote on 2 October 2009. The report will also be available for public consumption.

Please click here for information on the Candidature Acceptance Procedure, including the questionnaire to which Applicant Cities must respond by 14 January 2008 and the rules applicable to this process.

(Source: The International Olympic Committee)