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Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation’s eyes fixed firmly on the prize

Bid officials move into final blitz as July 2 decision day looms The bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Whistler and Vancouver has moved into the final stretch.

Bid officials move into final blitz as July 2 decision day looms

The bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Whistler and Vancouver has moved into the final stretch.

The 2010 Bid Corporation has just given its last presentation on its plan to the International Olympic Committee executives before they reach their decision in Prague July 2.

It was also the first time IOC president Jacques Rogge had experienced Vancouver’s presentation.

And the bid corp. has sent its formal response to the report of the IOC evaluation team, which visited Whistler and Vancouver in March, to the Olympic Committee offices in Lausanne, Switzerland.

But executives at the bid corp. aren’t resting on their laurels, though many outsiders believe Vancouver’s bid is out front.

"We’ve still got a lot of promotion to do and the presentation in Prague is very, very important," said the bid corp. president John Furlong.

Furlong was part of a team of six who went to a sports conference in Madrid, Spain last week to give a multi-media presentation extolling the virtues of the Canadian bid.

"It was a very important meeting for us and the presentation went well. We were well received and warmly received," said Furlong.

"My sense of what happened in the room was they were paying close attention and were very interested.

"And I also had this feeling that they knew a lot about us before we got there.

"I think the word about Vancouver and Whistler is out there now and people are beginning to get a real sense of who we are and what we have to say and what is special about us compared to anyone else."

Opportunities such as this one to give presentations to IOC executives have grown in importance because IOC delegates are not allowed to visit candidate cities under new rules brought in after the Salt Lake City bribery scandal.

The Madrid SportAccord conference catered to all those involved in the sports industry at the highest levels.

So as well as speaking to the IOC executive it gave the bid corp. representatives another chance to talk to those with various sport federations.

Furlong said the talk was positive and it is generally accepted that Vancouver and Whistler’s facilities for athletes are excellent.

"One of the really reassuring things about our bid is that I think we have managed to convince the world that the concept is really a very, very good concept," said Furlong.

"For sport and athletes it is really quite special.

Whistler continues to be a big part of the message the bid corp. is marketing in its quest to win the Games.

Furlong said he and others were taken by surprise when a member of the IOC evaluation team commented that the resort may not be able to cope with all the people who wanted to stay here because of the amenities and beauty it offers.

"I have to say it was the most surprising thing said to us during the evaluation visit," he said.

The bid corp. addressed the issue in this week’s reply to the IOC evaluation report by creating a media village for 2,000 near the Cheakamus River.

The new village will free up many hotel rooms and allow media to be permanently based here.

"I think Whistler is powerful in this and its reputation is out there and the fact that the (IOC) came here and saw it and touched it has really added something for us," said Furlong.

Other changes outlined in the bid corp.’s response to the evaluation visit include:

• More services for athletes at the freestyle events on Cypress Mountain;

• The immediate start to construction of the Nordic Centre in the Callaghan should the Games be awarded to Vancouver;

• Confirmation of the plan to have award ceremonies in Whistler at the Celebration Plaza, to be built on the Whistler Golf Club driving range;

• Changes to the Vancouver transportation plan to eliminate the need for any spectators to drive to venues.

Furlong said the bid was pleased that no significant changes were needed following the evaluation.

"That is very powerful for Vancouver," he said.

"If we had had to go back for example and move a venue that would have been difficult for us to do because of the public process that we go through in Canada."

That’s exactly what has happened in Salzburg, Austria, Vancouver’s top competitor for the 2010 Games.

Following their evaluation they moved the curling events from Kitzbuehel to Salzburg and three of the snowboarding events at St. Johann will move to Flachau and Zauchensee.

Salzburg says the changes will save them money and reduces the number of venues from 15 to 12.

The changes rocked Salzburg’s bid. When the news broke Kitzbuehel initially threatened to pull out of the Games. Since then the two cities have come to an understanding.

No official response to the IOC evaluation team visit had been released by Salzburg or Pyeongchang, Korea the third Candidate City, at deadline.

But Pyeongchang did respond to the IOC evaluation report on its Web site. Korean officials argue eloquently that the chance for the IOC to be part of a process to promote peace should outweigh other bid considerations.

"Holding the Olympics, the symbol of peace, in the land that is the symbol of division will provide a meaningful platform for putting conflict and separation behind us in order to move into an era of peace and harmony," states the document on the Web site.

It goes on to point out that Korea is the only divided country in the world and Gangwon province the only divided province.

"The reason behind the ardent desire of Koreans to host the Olympics is not only the fact that we are a sports-loving people but also because we have hope and faith that magnificent event will bring peace to our land," it is stated on the Web site.

But there is no escaping the fact that Korea has some significant challenges to its bid.

Other Games on the books have also had challenges so this may not be the time for the IOC to take on another bid which may need babysitting.

While Furlong didn’t want to speculate on how this might affect Vancouver’s chances he would say: "I do think it is important when you present the bid that they look at you and they believe you."

"They see that your plan is reliable and viable and you can deliver and you have the commitments in place and the promises you are making are promises you fully plan to keep.

"I think we set out in the early days to try and convince the IOC that we were going to be a bid of substance that we are a bid to be trusted that we keep our promises that we understood how this was all supposed to work."

Part of the plan is making sure the IOC knows that the bid is backed by all levels of government.

Whistler Mayor Hugh O’Reilly will be travelling to Prague as will B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell and Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

Indeed Chretien is keeping a promise he made months ago despite his statutory obligation to be in Canada on July 1.

"He will get on a plane and fly overnight and arrive in Prague literally within a couple of hours of the presentation," said Furlong of Chretien’s plans to get to the announcement.

"He made a promise that he would do it and he is delivering on that promise.

"There is no better way to say we are all behind the bid than to show up together and say it."

A Piquenewsmagazine team, including editor Bob Barnett, will provide full coverage of the July 2 announcement in Prague and reaction right here at home in Whistler and Vancouver.