Prez May Skip Trip to Pitch Chicago Olympics

IOC chief says there's no clear favorite ahead of next month's vote on 2016

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 11, 2009 1:20 AM CDT

(Newser) – President Obama is keeping the team behind Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics guessing on whether he'll head to Copenhagen to personally address the International Olympic Committee before members make their choice next month, the Chicago Tribune reports. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says he isn't aware of any travel plans for the president, but aides stress no final decision has been made.

Madrid, Rio, and Tokyo are Chicago's rivals for the 2016 Games and their heads of state plan to travel to Copenhagen for the October 2 vote. "There is no favorite. There is no bid that is lagging behind," IOC president Jacques Rogge tells the AP. "All the scenarios are possible." The presence of national leaders isn't a factor in the voting, he added. Obama, a firm supporter of Chicago's bid, is expected to address the IOC by videolink if he can't make it in person.

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (1)]

Chicago Alderman James A. Balcer holds up an "I Back The Bid" t-shirt as he speaks before the city council votes to approve the Olympic host city contrac in Chicago earlier this week. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)

A member of the Chicago 2016 delegation speaks to the press during a exhibition for IOC members in Switzerland. (AP Photo/KEYSTONE/Dominic Favre)

Chicago 2016 leader Patrick Ryan speaks at a news conference in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A Chicago 2016 Olympics flag flies near an American flag in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

I think he needs to do everything to go to the mat for having the United States be the host for the 2016
Olympic Game - Ken Duberstein, former chief of staff to President Reagan

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

South Korea Gets 2018 Olympics

Pyeongchang wins bid in first round

(NEWSER) - Pyeongchang, South Korea, won the 2018 Winter Olympics in the first round of voting, the International Olympic Committee announced today. Pyeongchang was up against Munich, Germany, and Annecy, France, but was the favorite and had even been speculated to win in the first round. It was the first time since 1995 that a bid race with more than two finalists was decided in the first round, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

NBC Wins Olympics Until 2020

Broadcaster pays $4.38B for rights to 4 Olympics

(NEWSER) - NBC Universal has outbid rivals to win the US rights to broadcast the four Olympics after London 2012. The Comcast company's $4.38 billion bid included $2 billion to broadcast the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, and the 2016 summer Games in Rio de Janiero. Rival bidder Fox offered only $3.4 billion, while ESPN offered $1.4 billion for 2012 and 2014, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . More»

'Senator Oprah' Sounded Good to Blago

Then-gov considered media titan to succeed Obama as senator

(NEWSER) - As Rod Blagojevich considered possible successors to Barack Obama as US senator from Illinois, he came up with one name "no one can assail": Oprah Winfrey. As the former governor's corruption trial dragged on today in Chicago, prosecutors played a tape from December 2008—after Obama confidant Valerie Jarrett had withdrawn, the Tribune reports , costing Blago what he perceived as leverage with the president-elect—of Blagojevich and an aide tossing around names. More»

Wow! Obama Saved Us from the Canadians!

That nuclear summit looked a lot like a waste of time, didn't it?

(NEWSER) - President Obama convened the biggest meeting of world leaders on US soil since the founding of the UN in 1945. And what did this week's historic gathering accomplish? Well, it generated a nonbinding statement saying that Ukraine, Chile, Mexico, and Canada will get rid of some enriched uranium. “What a relief,” writes Charles Krauthammer of the Washington Post . “I don’t know about you, but I lie awake nights worrying about Canadian uranium.” More»

Blagojevich Defense Wants Obama to Testify

Lawyers seek investigators' interviews with Obama, Emanuel

(NEWSER) - Rod Blagojevich's lawyers may attempt to get President Obama to testify in the former Illinois governor's corruption trial. The Blagojevich defense team has sought access to federal investigators' interviews with Obama and Rahm Emanuel conducted last year in order to determine whether to call the president or his chief of staff to the stand. They know getting a sitting president to testify would not be easy. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Prez May Skip Trip to Pitch Chicago Olympics