The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is giving the seven cities bidding to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games an extra chance to explain their bids, IOC President Jacques Rogge told a press conference Friday.
The Chicago Tribune reports that since the Salt Lake City vote buying scandal, which was uncovered three years after the 1995 vote that elected Salt Lake City host of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, bid cities were prohibited from organizing visits for IOC members, where much of the offences occurred.
But many IOC members complained about the ban on visits, finding the ban constraining, reports the newspaper.
Rogge said the IOC will have a meeting to “give the cities a better opportunity to explain their bids to IOC members for a day or two”.
The meeting reportedly will take place at IOC headquarters in Lausanne Switzerland about two months before the 2016 host city is elected Oct. 2, 2009 in Copenhagen, at which all the IOC members will be invited.
Chicago 2016 chairman Patrick Ryan told the Tribune he would like the opportunity to have IOC members visit, but understood fully the IOC position on the matter. He said, “it would be better if we could bring them all in; obviously we can’t. But I think a lot of people are much more aware of Chicago than is generally known”.
