Prague 2016 Olympic bid Totally Explained

Everything about Prague 2016 Olympic Bid totally explained

Prague, the capital city of Czech Republic, is officially bidding for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Prague's bid is considered a trial bid to warm up for future Olympic campaigns. Prague is currently competing with Baku (Azerbaijan), Chicago (United States), Doha (Qatar), Madrid (Spain), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Tokyo (Japan).
   Although Prague considered cancelling its bid, the government went forward with its bid by the deadline of January 14. Applicant cities will be shortlisted in June 2008, with the final selection in October 2009.
   If chosen, the Games would be staged between July 29 and August 14.
   This is a third try by Prague and the Czech Republic to host the Olympic Games. Previously Prague placed a bid for 1920 Summer Olympics which was won by Paris and planned a bid for 1980 Summer Olympics but Warsaw Pact invasion and normalization put an end to these plans; the Olympics were hosted by Moscow. Useful recent experience includes the recent hosting the 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships.
   The Czech Republic (including Czechoslovakia and Bohemia) has a strong sports legacy, which appeals to the IOC. and as a popular tourist destination, it holds many of the cultural aspects that appeal to the IOC. The bid book indicates around 38,000 hotel rooms are planned by 2016, but this amount is short of IOC expectations and is far behind competing bids. The IOC has tended to prefer, however, more compact bids. The Czech Olympic Committee plans to develop 130 sport centres in 75 cities in the process of Olympic Games candidature. When Prague revealed its bid book, it seems to have moved to a more compact concept to hold the Games in the heart of the city with venues close together - most not more than 20 minutes from each other or from the Old Town Centre of Prague. Three main clusters with be organized with the Olympic park at the center. Five venues are already built and ready, 12 need upgrades and nine permanent new venues will be constructed with an additional seven venues being temporary for the Games only. In response to presidential concerns over white elephant venues after the Games (such as Athens' unused baseball stadium), officials stressed the Games wouldn't bring dozens of new sporting facilities to Prague. Many existing facilities would be refurbished, most Olympic sites would be just temporary, with “only about 30 percent remain[ing] permanent.” Even the possible main Olympic stadium in Letòany would be developed in such a way that it could later be transformed into part of a convention center.

Funding and political support

The center of the bid will use a new $348 million Olympic Stadium and the Olympic village will be financed with both private and public funds. Revenues from the Games are projected at USD $969 million,A newer study indicates the government will spend US $5.03 billion for the Games, of which $1.4 billion would be expected to come from the national budget. Infrastructure costs will require another $28 billion. Other bid cities have support in the 70s-80s percent range except Tokyo which is around 60% and Baku which is over 90%. In December 2007, Tomas Petera suggested the possibility of Prague cancelling its bid, citing uncertainty over political guarantees because of a vacancy in the Sports and Education ministry linked to a government reshuffle. Government officials later confirmed stated legal guarantees to protect foreign athletes’ safety. However, no ties to financial obligations have been confirmed which is a requirement of a successful bid. In February 2008, Czech Premier Mirek Topolánek emphatically stated Prague's bid won't get financial guarantees from the government, even if the city makes the short list of contenders, effectively ending the campaign. For the time being, Prague is still officially in the running for the games. In March 2008, the item was still under contention when local press highlighted that the official questionnaire claims it would receive the equivalent of $5.2 million from the Czech government, but failed to mention that the government provided only legal guarantees. A spokesman for the Olympic promotion company said the figures are based on a financial study and are nothing but a possibility under consideration. He said the costs of the candidacy would be covered by Prague.

Logo

The Prague logo represents a branch from a laurel wreath, both a traditional sign of victory and celebration as well as a reward in the Ancient Olympics (and most recently featured in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece) and ribbons in the Olympic colors. Initially, the number "2016" formed the actual leaves. However, the IOC asked them to modify the design for reading clarity.

Outlook

Although the bid enjoys support from state and civic authorities such as current mayor Pavel Bem, Prague's bid is considered to be a long-shot given several factors, such as Prague's lack of stadia and other important Olympic sports infrastructure, wavering political support, funding issues, and as London is already hosting the 2012 Summer Olympics, the IOC is unlikely to award back-to-back Summer Olympic Games to the same continent. Prague has outright acknowledged this bid is in preparation for future bids.

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