Although the International Olympic Committee (IOC) plans to discuss reforms introduced after the Salt Lake City bribery scandal at a session of all its members in Mexico City at the end of November, it appears that visits by IOC members to bid cities won’t be allowed in the run-up to next July’s IOC vote in Prague.
Jack Poole, head of Vancouver’s 2010 bid said, “the information we’re getting from all sources is that it’s probably not on for this bid”.
He added, “frankly I like the rules”. But Poole admitted that the process was bizarre at times and said it could be a disadvantage to Canada’s third most populous city.
“We are going to be invited to certain major events. We are not allowed to do anything when we are there. You can’t have a hospitality suite. We can’t have a sales office. So we are just there just hanging around and hoping we can see some more members and they will ask us some questions. It is a kind of a bizarre way of doing it but that is the way it is. The key thing is the site of the evaluation commission.
“Even though I still like the rules it does put us at a disadvantage compared to European bids because European IOC members are certainly going to know what Salzburg and Berne have to offer”.
But he added: “If visits were allowed the opportunity for behaviour that was frowned upon will always be there, whereas now it is gone”.
