The clock is ticking.
In less than 24 hours, members of the International Olympic Committee will decide which of four bid cities will host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games: Tokyo, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Chicago. While each bid city has presented strong cases for hosting the Olympic Games, the general consensus is that this race is oh-so-close, with Rio and Chicago being the leading contenders.
After reading the Chicago Tribune’s succinct summary of why each bid city could win or lose the Olympic bid, I think Chicago’s chances are quite good. Rio is a strong contender and presents an emotional case, but I don’t think they are quite ready logistically to handle the Games. Their budget of $14.4 billion is much higher because the infrastructure is not yet in place. They have more venues to build, and the Games will be more spread out, which means they need to build the roads and transportation. With so much work to do, Rio may be a risky choice.
Even more troubling is the level of crime, as Tribune column Phil Hersh described recently in his Globetrotting blog. Granted, Chicago has crime issues too, but they don't compare with what is happening in Rio. These crime and infrastructure issues could be big enough concerns that they could hurt Rio’s chances to win the Games.
We'll know for sure in less than 24 hours.
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