Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman will travel to Switzerland next week as part of a five-person delegation, to sell the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Toronto hosting the 2008 Summer Games.
Representatives of the five 2008 bid cities will each make fifteen minute presentations to the IOC on December 13, and press briefings will be held in conjunction with these meetings.
According to an IOC press release, Toronto’s press conference will be held after Osaka and Paris and before Beijing and Istanbul, the afternoon of December 13.
Lastman said “I’m sure we can sell Toronto. We’ve got the best proposal anywhere and we have the nicest city out of the five that are in the bid right now”.
Other members of the Toronto bid team going to Switzerland are bid president John Bitove, chief operating officer Bob Richardson, two-time Olympic gymnast Curtis Hibbard and diver and silver medalist Anne Moname.
Richardson called it a critical meeting and described Lastman as the team’s secret weapon.