Let the Bidding Begin

This semester I am teaching a course about Sports and the Media. We will spend a couple of days covering one of my favorite topics, the Olympics.

Very recently the International Olympic Committee announced Sochi, Russia as the host city for the 2014 Winter Games. But now they must turn their attention to the bidding process for the 2016 Summer Games. It is a long process, and a final decision will not be reached until October 2, 2009 at the IOC's meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Right now it appears that there are seven cities that are definitely preparing to submit their bids. (Monterrey, Mexico would have made eight, but the Mexican National Olympic Committee rejected their proposal just yesterday.) Today is the final day for these bids to be submitted.

As it stands right now, the cities definitely vying for the 2016 Olympic Games are:

Baku, Azerbaijan

Chicago, USA

Doha, Qatar

Madrid, Spain

Prague, Czech Republic

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Tokyo, Japan

It will be an interesting race to see which city secures the right to host the games. And it’s hard to make the call at this point. All of these locations have advantages and disadvantages, which will become apparent as the process progresses.

One factor that could influence where the Games will be held is where the Games before it were held. Here’s a list of recent and future host cities.

2004 Summer Games – Athens, Greece

2006 Winter Games – Torino, Italy

2008 Summer Games – Beijing, China

2010 Winter Games – Vancouver, Canada

2012 Summer Games – London, England

2014 Winter Games – Sochi, Russia

I believe having the 2012 games in London will have an impact on Madrid and Prague’s bids. And while the U.S. hasn’t held a Games since the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, I am not certain that Chicago was the best choice for the U.S. bid.

I believe that, just on face value without knowing much about what their bids look like, the cities with the best chances are Baku, Doha, and Rio de Janeiro. All three are in areas of the world that have never hosted an Olympics before, which the IOC may see as a plus. My money at this point is on Doha. I believe that Qatar is building the infrastructure necessary to host major sporting events such as this one and can be an effective host.