Chicago's 2016 Olympic Games bid team is busy preparing for a 6-day visit by a 16-member evaluation team of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to Chicago.
Members of the International Olympic Committee's Evaluation Commission arrive in Chicago on April 2nd for the first of a four-city inspection tour that will result in an in-depth, technical analysis of each city's ability to host the Summer Olympic Games.
The delegation will inspect the city in its first stop during the competition against Rio de Janeiro, Madrid or Tokyo.
Chicago's bid team is busy rehearsing part of a 17-segment presentation on everything from mass transit to sponsorship opportunities.
Amid some questions about Chicago's ability to finance the Games without the usual blanket government guarantee, Chicago 2016officials need to buttress their plans for putting on sporting events with a combination of public and private promises to guarantee the construction costs, Chicago 2016 Chairman Pat Ryan said.
One part of the pitch - Chicago can deliver despite rough economic times. Organizers will use the World's Fair that followed the Great Depression as an example. Bid officials will assure the IOC that Chicago, which hosted the 1933 World's Fair at the height of the Depression, knows how to put on a big show during terrible economic times.
"Government funding for the Fair dried up but Chicago's business and philanthropic leaders stepped forward and contributed27 million to the Fair," said Valerie Barker Waller, Chicago 2016 marketing director.
The IOC delegation will spend as many as 20 hours over three days hearing presentations.
"This is a technical judgment but we want to make sure while they're here to see technical aspects of the city, they also see the spiritual, emotional and friendly parts of the city," said Patrick Sandusky, Chicago 2016 spokesman.
That's why Olympians like Bob Berland, who competed in the '84 Games in Los Angeles, are being tasked with acting as tour guides. Also, the evaluation team will see kids playing soccer on the field that is slated to host the sport if Chicago gets the Games.
Spectators on Olympic Island will be able to see beach volleyball and a whitewater slalom course while watching sailors prep their boats for competition during the visit by the delegation. Workers are also trying to finish renovating several fountains in the city ahead of time.
Community groups and businesses have planted flower in parks and planters along streets. Workers are laying down fresh asphalt in Washington Park, where the Olympic stadium would be built.
Chicago plans an Olympics with 90 percent of the athletes within 15 minutes of their competition venues, all based around Lake Michigan.
Chicago also plans to greet each IOC member with someone who speaks their language and knows their countries' customs.
Chicago is touting its plan for environmentally friendly games, so the evaluation team will be taken by an electric bus and a hybrid bus on its tour.
Chicago 2016 also updated a video animation that shows how some sections of the city will be transformed if Chicago is home to the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The IOC evaluation team consists of nine IOC members and seven Olympic staffers. The same delegation will also visit Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro in April as well as Madrid in early May.
Source:Xinhua
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