With three weeks before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announces the host city for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, the four competing cities – Madrid, Tokyo, Chicago and Rio de Janeiro – are finding ways to show the IOC why their cities should host the Games.
Madrid 2016 announced Friday an Olympic Fiesta to show the city’s support for the bid called “Impulse Day” (“Dia de la Corazonda”), that will demonstrate the number of people who believe in the bid.
On Sunday September 27 the people of Madrid will gather in the city’s Cibeles Square to visibly show their support. Wearing the colours of Madrid’s “Olympic Hand”, supporters will form the largest human mosaic ever created. Cibeles Square will be overlooked by a display of the Madrid 2016 logo and the fiesta will feature “fun activities” for everyone, said a press release, including jugglers, face painters, street artists, etc.
In Tokyo the 2009 Asian Youth Para Games get underway supported by Tokyo 2016. Five hundred young people with disabilities from across the continent will compete over three days. Under the slogan “Your Dreams, Our Legacy”, the Tokyo 2009 Asian Youth Para Games is giving inspiring young athletes ages 14 to 19 the opportunity to compete in iconic events, engage with international peers, and contribute to strengthened bonds between Asian nations and the growth of the Paralympic Movement, said a press release.
Competition during the 2009 Asian Youth Para Games will take place at four world-class venues proposed for the 2016 Games – Kasumigaoka National Stadium, Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Tokyo Tatsumi International Swimming Center and Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Chicago 2016 organizers are promoting the “environmentally friendly” bid. Organizers said Thursday they would convert stadium seats into wheelchairs after the Games and donate them world wide, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Other programs, which organizers said would be financed by donors, would set aside money for open space and help provide clean water in developing countries.
Rio 2016 received a boost following a report that according to the findings of research by global research company ORC Worldwide, Rio de Janeiro would be the most cost-effective 2016 Candidate City for those travelling to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. ORC Worldwide examined prices of a representative market basket of 200 goods and services in each 2016 Candidate City and compared them to London, the host city of the 2012 Summer Games. The results show that Rio is 18 per cent less expensive than London, followed by Chicago (11 per cent) and Madrid (3 per cent), while Tokyo’s prices were reported as 42 per cent higher than London.
The research also highlights the affordability of transport in Rio, where travelling by bus or metro “is by far the cheapest” of the four candidate cities. The report also notes “celebrating a gold medal with a glass of beer is currently the most affordable in Rio”.
