Jun 2, 2008 7:09 pm US/Central
City Expected To Pass Major Olympic Hurdle
Mayor Daley In Athens 2 Days Before Major Announcement To Be Made
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley in Athens, Greece two days before a major announcement for the 2016 Games.
In just two days, Mayor Richard M. Daley and the rest of the world will find out if Chicago is any closer to becoming the host city for the 2016 Olympic Games.
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports Daley and his wife, Maggie Daley, were welcomed by the American ambassador to the country where the Olympics began, and where Chicago is expected to achieve a major milestone Wednesday.
"You think 3,000 year tradition and there's no better city in the world than Chicago that can carry on that tradition," said U.S. Ambassador to Greece Daniel Speckhard. "The integration of people from all over the world to live together peacefully and productively in a happy environment."
While Daley was in Athens, Chicago's annual sister cities celebration was getting underway here. The Mayor told CBS 2 by phone from Greece that he's going to rely on these sister cities to help lobby Olympic voters once Chicago is named a finalist on Wednesday.
"You never know how many cities there are gonna be, is it gonna be 3, 4, 5, 6, you never know, you just want to get it over with and then from there you can formally compete in regards to your presentation to the [International Olympic Committee]," Daley said.
In addition to the meeting with the ambassador, the Daleys toured the Greek capital, running into many Chicagoans, and inspecting the infrastructure improvements, like the new subway that the 2004 Games left to Athens.
Daley has also seen
AroundtheRings.com's informal ratings, which show Chicago and Rio de Janeiro with the early lead among the other applicants. Chicago is reportedly favored for its existing infrastructure and venue plan; Rio for its ability to connect with IOC members.
"Everybody says you're number one but you just don't know," Daley said. "I'm really happy with it. Like anything else there's a lot of competition out there," Daley said.
Just as Daley isn't euphoric over the Around the Rings rating, he's not apt to be dismayed by Wednesday's IOC ranking where most believe Chicago will be somewhere down the list. After all, just as in horseracing, the winner isn't who's ahead at the top of the stretch, but at the finish line.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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