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Obama Fever May Boost Chicago's Olympic Bid

Organizers hoping for his help in winning bid to host Olympics in 2016

By Kristina Loew, Newser User

Posted Nov 6, 2008 6:25 PM CST

(Newser) – Chicago hopes to have an ace up its sleeve when it makes its bid to host the 2016 Olympics next fall: the city’s most famous resident. With Vladimir Putin and Tony Blair helping cinch their countries' bids to win over previous Olympic organizers, officials hope Barack Obama will travel to Copenhagen to make the final presentation in person, writes Philip Hersh in the Chicago Tribune.

But the president-elect may have already given the Windy City's bid a boost. The global media got an eyeful during Obama’s Grant Park victory speech, which showed off a "striking city" and a well-managed crowd. "What the world saw Tuesday, what it will see every time President Obama returns to his home in Chicago, what it will read about after every reportorial trip to trace Obama's history, should expose the city in a way Chicago 2016 officials could never have done on their own."

[Images (5)]

[Quotes (1)]

In this Jan. 7, 2008, file photo, a man jogs along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Chicago. (AP Photo,)

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., his wife Michelle and daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, take the stage to deliver his victory speech in Grant Park in Chicago, Tuesday night. (AP Photo)

Thousands of supporters gather inside Chicago's Grant Park to wait for the arrival of Barack Obama on Nov. 4, 2008. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

Chicago Skyline. Copyright John Sones. (Shutterstock)

A Chicago 2016 Olympics flag and an American flag fly in Chicago, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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I would think if you have a leader of his quality and capability in front of the IOC members, it will be pretty exciting for them.
- IOC member

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Obama Fever May Boost Chicago's Olympic Bid