Results tagged “olympics”

       

You didn't think we were gonna make it through a whole day without mentioning Oprah again, did you? Well, we'll be brief. We've already revisited the controversy over this year's season premiere which was filmed downtown in early September. But readers who've been this site for a bit might remember that Stoplman and my predecessor, Margaret, attended the 2008 season premiere, filmed in Millennium Park and featuring a slew of Olympic athletes from the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Be sure to check out the entire story and even more photos here.

Despite a failed attempt at securing the 2016 Games in Chicago, Patrick Ryan still has work to do on the Olympics front. Ryan, who was the head of the Chicago Olympics bid, was named chairman of the board of World Sport Chicago on Thursday, an organization whose focus is to get Chicago youth to participate in the wide range of Olympic sports. Ryan had promised that the city's work for the Olympics wouldn't end with the failed bid and this new position will test that promise.

Sure, we're over a month removed from the vote that sent shockwaves through the city (no matter what you thought of the bid), but we're just now starting to hear more information on what exactly went on in Copenhagen. The latest comes from Jack Kelly, of Lexington Kentucky and member of the 2016 bid.

Comedy Central star and former Second City player Stephen Colbert continues to reach new, er, tights of fame. Colbert and his show are now the lead sponsor of the U.S. Speedskating team and "Colbert Nation" will be printed on the team's uniforms.The team was left without financial support a short time before the 2010 Vancouver Olympics when primary sponsor DSB Bank NV declared bankruptcy last month. In stepped Colbert, who won't be sending money directly to the team but has asked viewers and supporters to make donations which can be done via his show's website or the team's website.

It's been three weeks since the Big Letdown but Mayor Daley hasn't been quick to move on from the disappointment of finishing last of the Final Four in 2016 Olympic voting. Speaking last week to the editorial board at Crain's, Daley pointed out the disparity between government support for U.S. candidate cities and support other governments give their candidates.

Speaking at a DNC fundraiser last night in New York City, President Obama addressed criticism of his proposed health care reform but also took a moment to address criticism of his trip to Copenhagen on behalf of Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid. Said Obama of his whirlwind, transatlantic adventure:

With Chicago's Olympic hopes dashed, the local organization that dared us to Imagine Letting Friendship Shine will begin to close up shop. Chicago 2016 is expected to lay off nearly 60 members of its support staff, retaining a skeleton crew as it winds down operations by year's end. All of the brain power and dreamers, many collecting six-figure salaries from the organization, will go back to their corporate jobs or on to other lucrative jobs. What's left of Chicago 2016 will be dissolved, and its remaining finances will be donated to World Sport Chicago, who's mission is to "uphold and advance the Olympic ideals in every day life through active participation in Olympic and Paralympic sports" by bringing sports opportunities to Chicago youth.

So here we are, three days later, and we're still scratching our heads as to what exactly happened. But, puzzled or not, we move on. We know we came close to becoming "Olympicsist" over the last few weeks, but it was an important event for this city, a city we love. The questions surrounding the failed bid will linger and the biggest consequences of that failure won't shake out for a while, possibly until February 2011. The topic will still come up from time to time here on the site, but, for now, we, like the rest of the city, move on. If you feel like accessing any of our previous coverage of the 2016 bid, this can be done via a search of the tags "Chicago 2016" and "Olympics."

Between health care and the failed Chicago 2016 Olympics bid, we knew the honeymoon was probably over for President Obama. Even SNL has turned on Obama as evidenced by last night's opening skit. Politics aside, we couldn't help but chuckle at the Chicago 2016 t-shirt joke.

• So what happened at the IOC vote? Some say blame the USOC though an Australian IOC rep thinks an Asian alliance may have teamed up to help Tokyo and hurting Chicago's bid as a result.
• Obama had a subdued, respectful reaction to the results - did we expect anything else - but the question as to how much this will impact his legacy looms.
• It took three hours after Chicago's first round bounce for Mayor Daley to surface, but he did and he was straight-forward in his thoughts on the bid: "I'm disappointed but you go on with your life."

The Tribune has the final tallies from the IOC's vote. Madrid was the surprise leader after round one but it seems most of those who voted for Chicago threw their support behind Rio come Round 2 and Tokyo supporters followed suit.

                 

We're still trying to figure out exactly...why? Was it the wooden performance by members of the bid team last night? Was there an anti-American sentiment? Was it something as seemingly small but actually big as the world-wide exposure of the Derrion Albert video, a single, visceral act of horrific violence? Who knows? What we do know is that there will be much speculation over the next few days - including here - and maybe we'll come to an answer. Though many of us here at Chicagoist were wary of the Games being held here, to lose in the first round is still...insulting? Hurtful? Because though we might not have wanted the Olympics here, that doesn't mean we don't have civic pride. We love this city. That's why we're here, writing day-in and day-out on this website about this city of ours. Out of love for a city we marvel at. So call us conflicted this afternoon as we try to figure out what happened. And, for some of us, catching up on sleep.

In an announcement that means heartbreak for many but relief for others, the International Olympic Committee has awarded the 2016 Summer Olympics to Rio de Janeiro over Madrid. Chicago, as we all know by now, was eliminated first in a stunning development.

This just in! Exclusive footage of Mayor Daley just after the announcement!

The news hit Chicago hard today, as the IOC announced that the City by the Lake would not be hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics. Even more shocking, the city did not make it past the first round of voting. Mayor Daley's admonitions that the games are the best economic engine that the city has will be tested in the coming years, and an increasingly frustrated and angry electorate will be looking for leadership out of the financial and political swamp they've been dragged into.

             

Hello from downtown Chicago. The festivities have been kicking here for not quite a half an hour or so and the cool weather hasn't dampened the spirits of the large crowd gathered here at a sunny Daley Plaza. We're still a little under an hour away from the start of the IOC's voting. Barring a huge upset, Chicago is expected to make it to the final round of voting, most likely against Rio. That means we won't find out who gets the Games until the official IOC announcement at 11:30 a.m. In the meantime, be sure to keep checking back with this post as we add more pics and updates from the festivities and count down to the big reveal.

     

We're just a few scant hours away from learning who, exactly, will host the 2016 Summer Olympics and things are getting heated. An American source told CNN the battle between Rio and Chicago is "close as hell." Still, representatives for long-shots Tokyo and Madrid are also still going all out for the bid. Need a quick cram session so you can wow the coworkers around the water cooler with your 2016 bid knowledge before the big announcement? Then check out our candidate city profiles: Chicago; Tokyo; Madrid; and Rio.

                      

Good morning, Chicago. We're awaiting the start of Chicago 2016's final presentation before the International Olympic Committee. You can follow along at the official Olympics website or watch the presentation live on any of the main network affiliates or their websites. We'll hit the highlights below.

• According to the Trib, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is accompanying President Obama on the quick trip to Copenhagen. We're guessing they sneaked out before Sen. Burris knew they were gone.
• Speaking of Obama, once tomorrow's Olympic announcement is out of the way, he'll send Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan to Chicago to follow up on the Derrion Albert attack.
• We're not the only ones going all-in on the 2016 announcement; our pals at The Reader have a lot of great coverage of their own.

So the day is almost upon us. In fact, a long day of Olympic activities will kick off not only in Copenhagen, but also Chicago not long after midnight Chicago time. That's when - at around 1:45 a.m. our time - all four cities will have a chance to present their case to the IOC one last time. Every major network in town will carry it live both on television and stream it on their website. The IOC will also stream all the fun via their website. For the three of you still awake and on this site at that hour, I'll be covering it as well right here. Once that's all wrapped up, the voting begins. So how will the voting go down? The Tribune's James Janega is all over that question and breaks it down for us.

       

The IOC is all about pomp and circumstance, which is the only way to explain the opening ceremonies held Thursday night in Copenhagen. An opening ceremony for a vote? Sure, why not. Oprah, Mayor Daley, and Michelle Obama were among the Chicago delegates there while other members continued to spread out around town. The Trib has a running update of today's events.

Earlier today, we ran part one of our interview with Londonist editor Matt Brown. While he's explained some of the context of London's role in hosting the Olympics multiple times, he's also shared with us some of the concerns that locals have had with the build up to the games. And while Brown personally likes "big bold projects that can inspire," he also pointed out one of the potential downsides to hosting a high-profile global event, (perhaps more frightening to Americans that to the English): terrorism. "The very day after we got the Olympics, terrorists detonated four explosive devices on the transport network, killing 52 - the single worst terrorist incident ever in London. It's thought there was no direct connection with the Games. However, in the immediate aftermath, there was renewed solidarity and support for the city, which manifested in greater support for the Olympics. I don't think that's a continuing factor, but it was relevant in the early days after we won the bid."

With the Olympic announcement less than 24-hours away, we turned to a member of the staff who has experience living in an Olympic host city for a defense of the bid. Benjy is one of three Chicagoist staffers who lived in the Atlanta area during the 1996 Olympics and offers this pro-Olympics perspective.

                                   

This week, as we prepare for Friday's announcement of the host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, we'll feature a quick look at each city's proposed venues and bid. Today, we finish with Chicago's biggest opponent, Rio. Previously: Chicago, Tokyo, and Madrid.

With the IOC less than a day away from reaching a decision about which city will host the 2016 Summer Games, we thought it might be a good idea to talk to someone that lives in a city that's hosting a summer games soon itself: London. Amidst confusion over what exactly Greenwich Mean time and Chicago time is, we met up with Londonist editor Matt Brown via IM for a conversation about the impact of the games on a major city, and what the residents of that city think about hosting such an event.

              

Almost 200 people picketed City Hall last night to voice their opposition to the 2016 Olympic games in Chicago. Protesters hoped to send a message to Copenhagen - Chicago just can't afford it. “We're spending more money than we have. The city is spending millions while leaving workers out in the cold” said one demonstrator. Another protester, speaking from a megaphone, said “we're spending hundreds of millions of dollars on public displays of wealth that we can't access.” The boisterous crowd petered out around 7:00pm, leaving only a few stragglers behind. Later, six people were arrested for the banner burning, but, again, authorities have said they believe those six were not involved with the main protest.

        

Six men were arrested at the Daley Center last night after they ripped down an Olympic banner from the Picasso and tried to burn it in the "eternal flame." The group got into a "physical confrontation" with police officers who responded and all six were taken into custody. Authorities have said they believe that the six jackasses men were not part of the organized anti-Olympics rally that was held earlier in the evening - we'll have more on that later. We'd like to think that these jerkstores were just upset over Pele's dissing of Michael Jordan, but...no. They just seem like trouble-making douchebags making things harder on those that protested earlier without relegating themselves to destruction of city property.

Ethics dust-up or no, it seems that Rio's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics has taken a big hit with the cancellation of several international swimming events. The reason? A lack of money. According to an AP report:

• Chicago 2016 CEO Patrick Ryan, speaking at today's press conference in Copenhagen, cited a new Zogby poll that claims 72 percent of Chicagoans support the Olympic bid.
• The Teen Cop Impersonator is back in the news as a judge has ordered him to three months in juvenile detention for violating the rules of his home confinement.
• The FBI is asking for the public's help in tracking down a Cicero man wanted in connection with a 1996 murder.

         

We mentioned earlier that the Chicago 2016 delegation has arrived in Copenhagen in preparation for this week's final presentation and vote on the 2016 Summer Olympics host city. Here's photographic evidence of the team hitting the ground running (in some cases, literally).