TO-2008’s official bid book was finally released Thursday morning to the public and the media at a short presentation at Toronto City Hall.
TO-2008 Executive Vice-President Karen Pitre, who presented a printed copy and CD-Rom of the bid book to Toronto city councillor Anne Johnston, said, “now that the IOC Evaluation Commission has completed its review of Toronto, we are ready to make our Bid Book public. All of the Bid Books have been submitted, the IOC Evluation Commission has nearly completed its five-city inspection tour and it’s time for people to see the details of this Bid. It’s a very impressive and innovative vision for the Olympic Games and for Toronto and we’re very proud of it”, she said.
The bid book is a 600-page document contained in three volumes and provides answers to 150 questions, in three languages, across 18 themes.
But it wouldn’t be exactly accurate to refer to it as a “book”. The material, in English, French and Spanish, is mainly contained on CD-ROMS.
Apparently printing costs for 600 colour pages on glossy stock were astronomical. Pitre estimates the project cost about $1 million to complete.
The Bid Book is so detailed, that floor plans for the athletes’ village even mark out where the beds will be placed.
There are weather charts for all venues in Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, St. Catharines and Oshawa, that contain average temperatures and precipitation for the past decade.
Under accommodations, hotels are listed as two-star, four-star, etc., and exact hotel rates are quoted. Included is the fact that there will be 12 berths available in the harbour for luxury cruse ships, which should add another 3,600 available guest rooms.
TO-2008 Chief Operating Officer Bob Richardson has been told by Canadian IOC members that Toronto’s Bid Book stacks up quite nicely against the works produced by the other four cities bidding for the Games.
The book contains a sport plan that has been conceived, designed and led by athletes for athletes; and a compact Olympic Waterfront plan in which 25 of 28 sports have a competition venue within six kilometers of the Olympic Village.
The book shows the support of all levels of government, including a contribution of $1.5 billion for the redevelopment of Toronto’s Olympic Waterfront, site of the Olympic Stadium and Olympic Village, and strong support from the business community and the public. There is now a list of 70,000 people who want to volunteer for the Games.
As for security, the Toronto 2008 Olympis Games Security Plan estimates about 14,000 security personnel will be used on a peak day, including 2,000 members from the Toronto and area police services, 3,000 Royal Canadian Mounted Police and 1,000 Ontario Provincial Police.
According to the Bid Book, there will also be an expansion of existing programs for crime prevention, surveillance, victim services and response.
And there are the perks for members of the “Olympic Family”, (IOC members and the heads of sports federations, and corporate sponsors). The Bid Book shows that 1,800 five-star guestrooms located in the Olympic Waterfront District at five star hotels have been reserved for the “Olympic Family” at guaranteed rates. Major sponsors will be provided one dedicated vehicle and driver with additional service available upon request; Sponsor Hospitality Villages would “celebrate the significant commitment of the sponsors” providing an environment that is “elegant, comfortable and convenient for sponsors to entertain and host their guests”, and they would be “strategically located to provide premier access to both the sport venues and sponsor transport services”; accredited IOC members and accompanying persons, senior IOC staff, designated commission members and others designated by the IOC director general would also be provided with exclusive dedicated automobiles and drivers; and luxury cruise ships to accommodate sponsors and their guests would be available in Toronto Harbour.
