Two IOC members that Toronto was counting on for support in its 2008 Olympic bid thought Toronto bidders were too pushy.
Sergei Bubka of Ukraine, an athlete only recently elected to the IOC, said, “they did a good job. But I think they have to be more patient and diplomatic. Sometimes you push and push and it creates negative feelings.
Members kind of back away a bit. But I saw the city when I came with the (IOC) evaluation commission, and the bid was excellent”.
And Hein Verbruggen of the Netherlands, head of the IOC evaluation commission said, “I think it (their approach) didn’t help. It’s a very North American approach, which I personally can appreciate. I spend a lot of time in North America, and I know it’s the local culture. But perhaps you have to take into account the number of people from other countries, even Europe, who act differently. Perhaps they were too aggressive”.
Another IOC member suggested Toronto’s bid team was a little naive about world politics.
But Canadian IOC member Bob Steadward, head of the International Paralympic Committee, said he didn’t think the bid group could have done any better. “Some people say we weren’t aggressive enough. But we had excellent people, and we left no stone unturned”.
Verbruggen said, “I think they should bid again. I told certain people that if they want to run again in 2012, they would certainly be a very strong candidate. They finished second, and it’s not fair to look at the votes and say they were so far away”.
He added, “for a long time, many people said that if Beijing had a strong technical bid, they would vote for them, and Beijing had that. So it was very difficult for Toronto. But the IOC always gives an edge to a city that lost before. We did it with Beijing after they lost to Sydney and we did it with Athens. They lost in 1996, but they defeated Rome for the 2004 Games”.
