By Erskine McCullough
PARIS, Nov 17, AFP - The opening salvo of what will be an eight-month war of words was fired in earnest today as five of the most powerful cities in the world fight to host the 2012 Olympics.
Paris, New York and Madrid made public their plans on how they will organise the most glittering prize in sport if they can win over the hearts and minds of the 120-odd IOC members who will vote the winner on July 6, 2005 in Singapore.
Paris begin the campaign as favourites but this is their third attempt.
They lost out to Barcelona for the 1992 Games and were overrun by Beijing for the 2008 Olympics, going out in the first round of voting.
Bid officials are quietly confident that this time they have got it right.
Paris bid chief Philippe Baudillon is banking on the fact that 90 percent of the infrastructure needed to host the games is already in place.
With the panic caused by the delays in building in the lead-up to Athens, Paris is hoping the fact that such problems will not exist in the French capital, will go in their favour.
They are also counting on the support for the Games from all over France.
On Tuesday 2,000 mayors from all over the country met in Paris to pledge their support for the Paris bid.
The IOC members are always keen to feel wanted and any suggestion of a strong objection to them or the Olympics usually proves fatal.
Paris is also banking on their record of holding major sporting events.
Last year the city hosted the World Athletics Championships and in 1998 the World Cup.
Only hours after Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe formally revealed the bid book that was handed into IOC headquarters on Monday, New York deputy major Dan Doctoroff was unveiling New York’s master plans in an office overlooking Ground Zero.
Doctoroff played down the fact that Paris is the front runner - citing that over the past nine Olympics the early front runner had never won when it came to the final vote. We've laid out a plan for us to be able to win when the IOC votes on July 6,'' said Doctoroff, who is the driving force behind the New York bid. We have a very, very good chance of winning.’’
Russian president Vladimir Putin and premier Mikhail Fradkov have renewed their backing for Moscow’s 2012 Olympic bid with a promise to assign all the necessary funds to make the Games a success.
``The government guarantees that all necessary financial commitments will be made,’’ Fradkov said.
Moscow is seen as the weakest of the bids and according to IOC sources huge political pressure from the Kremlin was put on the IOC to include the Russian capital in the final five.
London unveil their plans on Friday.
NEW YORK - Hoping to experience the magic of the 2012 Summer Olympics in New York City? It will cost you - especially if you want to see the opening or closing ceremonies.
If New York wins the 2012 Games, tickets for the opening ceremonies at the proposed Olympic Stadium on Manhattan’s far West Side will range from expensive to exorbitant: $550 to $1,500.
Tickets for New York’s closing ceremonies would be a tad cheaper but still hefty: $450 to $1,200.
Details about ticket pricing emerged Wednesday when NYC2012, the city’s Olympic bid committee, released its 562-page, three-volume bid book, which details the city’s proposal to become the 2012 host city.
New York is competing against Paris, Madrid, London and Moscow for the 2012 Games. The International Olympic Committee will select the winner in July.
Not every Olympic event would require a king’s ransom in gold.
More than 60 percent of the 9.4 million tickets to be sold would cost $50 or less - and 88 percent would be less than $100. More than 25 percent would be priced under $25.
The bid book paints a spectacular picture of a city immersed in the Olympic spirit. For example, the Olympic Rings would be projected nightly into the sky and be visible over the Manhattan skyline in a stunning light display.'' The lights on the Empire State Building would reflect each of the 202 Olympic countries competing in the Games for the 202 days leading up to the opening ceremonies. During the Games, a ribbon of light would illuminate the East River. Roughly 95 percent of all signs citywide have been reserved for Olympic use. And the city's buses and commuter rail and subway cars are to be adorned with dramatic murals of athletes in motion. New York City is the city that, like the Olympic Games, embodies the triumph of the human spirit,’’ said Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, prime mover behind the city’s Olympic bid.
``New York City is committed to commanding our vast resources to both celebrate athletes and the Olympic ideal of striving for a better world through sport.’’
To produce the Games, New York plans to raise more than $3 billion, including $1.7 billion from local sponsorships and ticket sales. The budget includes a $200 million contingency fund to handle any eleventh-hour shortfall.
In 2001, the state Legislature agreed to plug a potential deficit with a maximum of $250 million in city and state money. Officials said they are negotiating what will happen if there’s a shortfall greater than $250 million.
Next up: the site visit.
The International Olympic Committee’s evaluation commission will visit the area Feb. 21-24.
MADRID, Nov 17 (AFP) - Spain will draft some 35,000 police to beef up security, according to a dossier handed to the International Olympic Committee who were Wednesday mulling the specifics of Madrid’s 2012 Olympic bid.
In all, 17,500 police, roughly a third of whom will come from outside the capital, will join 11,500 civil guard and 6,000 municipal police to ensure visitor safety if Madrid wins the bid.
Added to the equation will be 9,000 private security guards, 4,700 volunteers, 2,300 firefighters, 122,000 civil protection officers and 3,000 Red Cross workers, the dossier reveals.
Madrid is particularly concerned to prove its mettle in terms of guaranteeing security if it sees off opposition from Paris, London, Moscow and New York to land the 2012 jamboree after suffering the worst terrorist attack in its history with train bombings last March which left 191 people dead.
In May, when the finalists were selected, Madrid placed second behind Paris but scored its poorest rating among selection criteria for security – 6.4-7.4 out of ten with the city’s overall score hitting 8.3, compared with 8.5 for Paris.
``We hope to boost that score by putting an emphasis on security in the dossier,’’ Spanish Minister for Sport Jaime Lissavetsky told AFP.
The IOC will make its final decision on the 2012 hosts on July 6, 2005.