IOC to NYC: 2012 Olympics Ain't In Your Backyard

The International Olympics Committee eliminated New York as a possible site for the 2012 Olympics in the second (of four) round of voting. Gothamist thought that watching the city selection process (starting at 6AM) was incredibly bizarre: The IOC Chairman comes out, tells how many votes were given, how many people voted, what the majority is, and then matter-of-factly says something like, "New York will not proceed to the next round of voting." When Moscow was voted out in the first round of voting, the split screen coverage showed the IOC on the right and people at Rockefeller Center cheering (so much for ending the Cold War!) on the left. Then a few minutes later, when New York was voted out, people were just quiet, and cameramen raced to find some crying NYC 2012 supporters. Then Madrid was eliminated in the third round, putting the age-old rivalry of England and France in the spotlight once again, with London and Paris in the final two. The 2012 Olympics city will be announced at 7:43AM (EST) - the IOC was running late!

WNBC's Today in New York had New York magazine's political editor Chris Smith on for commentary, and Smith said that this big defeat shows that the Mayor can lose; also, he said that the international sentiment about the Iraqi War may have affected the vote and the Mayor's Democratic challengers will try to take advantage of this loss. Gothamist thinks the latter'd be a mistake, as the last thing any politician should do is criticize a mayor who tried to show the world how awesome New York is. Other punditry: New York is better poised to rebid for the 2016 bid, because the presentation did impress IOC members (about half the voting members were Europen, plus, Beijing lost out on the 2004 Olympics, but will host in 2008 and Paris lost out on the 2008 Olympics, but seems to be the frontrunner for 2012).

What Gothamist learned from the NYC 2012 bidding:
- Believe the odds.
- The Mets will have a new stadium
- Being in a war probably doesn't help an Olympics bid.
- Referring to the publiv opinion surveys, New Yorkers will never be that supportive of anything, unless it involves large cash gifts with no strings attached.

Next steps: Wondering whether we'll be eating fish and chips or escargots in honor of the 2012 Olympics city, seeing what kind of the Olympic Decision Day festivities at Rockefeller Center are going on in the face of defeat... and seeing if NYC can be a viable contender for 2016.

Updated: The NY Times gives a rundown on the presentations (NYC's was slick, Moscow's and Madrid's weren't as polished, and Paris's was humble) and the AP says NYC 2012's Rock Center celebration turned into a "wake" this morning.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung on July 6, 2005 5:44 AM

Comments [rss]

areacode212

Most of that $50 million were private donations from friends of Doctoroff/Bloomberg, though.

challa kabobi

CNN just mentioned Londonist and the olympics coverage on its "Blogs" section...

Doctor On

$50M spent without securing the key component (the stadium)upfront was fool-hardy at best. The construction and hospitality jobs ARE a loss, though. And I will think about the poor welder who has to work on Schrager's new apartment building while I wait my interminable wait for a screeching, over-crowded, now over-priced, subway train. And while the cops and teachers remain under-paid, and fire houses close, I will dream of an usher/actor who never got to show a lovely couple from Wyoming to their seats for the judo semi-finals.

Bloomberg is much better than anyone of the Dem contenders could be, but let's call it like it is: Mike and Danny got Munson'ed, and were completely undone by a galling hubris that doesn't belong in the public sector.

And please, don't lay a jobs and tourism trip on me. I walk past the Olive Garden every day, and there's always a line. NYC math shows wait for dinner at an Olive Garden in Chelsea=tourism is fine. Inside, actors are getting 10% tips on penne dishes, which is much better than serving $10 Heinekens at the fencing venue seven years from now.

Let's play two at Doctoroff's Folly (new Mets Stadium)!

Cheng-Jih Chen

Actually, NPR mentioned this morning that the bid cost around $50M. The bid took about 10 years, and they didn't elaborate on how expenditures changed with time.

Jen

They'll never give that information up! Honestly, if anything, the Olympics bid might have been expensive, but it was a public attempt to bring more jobs (construction, hospitality, etc) to the city, and many people, even Bloomberg haters, will need to tread carefully when criticizing it.