As the saying goes the Mounties always get their man but in this case Vancouver’s bid committee is hoping they will help get the 2010 Winter Olympic Games for the city.
The Toronto Sun reports that Vancouver has flown over two formally decked Royal Canadian Mounted Police to Prague for the vote.
Still, Vancouver’s Mayor Larry Campbell is nervous about the outcome of the vote. He said this week “I don’t think I’ve ever been as nervous, including on election night, as I am on this one. It’s going to be pretty nerve-racking. I don’t think there’s much separating any of us”.
At this stage most people agree that Vancouver and Salzburg are running neck and neck, although BidIndex has Salzburg leading Vancouver by a miniscule 1.51 points, a margin too insignificant to matter.
Canadian International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Paul Henderson has Vancouver leading by a nose and says, “I think the politics are going their way. Because there’s a big movement in Europe to put the 2012 Games in London, Paris or Madrid”.
Another advantage for Vancouver from a political point of view, is that because Beijing is hosting the 2008 Summer Olympic Games it may not want to award Pyeongchang the 2010 Winter Games.
Henderson said, “there are so many things playing on it. Vancouver’s ahead with the countries that understand winter sport. The problem is, two-thirds of the (members) don’t like snow. So who knows that they’re going to do.
“I think Vancouver has done a very good job with the people who know that they’re talking about in regards to winter sport, but I’m not sure what’s going to happen with the South Americans, and the Africans and the Asians (from the IOC)”.
The CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Chris Rudge, told the Toronto Sun that Vancouver did everything it could to win the bid. A wrong move now, he said, would be to go to Prague this weekend and deviate form the original plan – a plan that is technically solid.
He added, “I don’t think gilding the lily is going to do anything more. It’s going to sell itself on its own merits.
“The contracts that I have (in the Olympic movement) think we’re pretty much on track. I don’t think there’s anything dramatically that has changed. Clearly the presentations that we do in Prague the final day will be that last kick at the can and I think we’re well prepared for that”.
