Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid: Destined to Fail?

It was a sad day for residents of Chicago on October 2, 2009, when they learned that their city was the first to be eliminated as a potential site for the 2016 Olympic games. All the hype, the planning, the money spent, the attempts to "back the bid"...all for absolutely naught. It was a crushing and heartbreaking defeat, to be sure, but I sense that such a loss may have been expected all along. Being from the Chicago area myself, I was also disappointed about the quick elimination, but I felt that it was bound to happen, if not in the first round of voting, then in subsequent rounds. I shall explain my reasons for why I feel this way.

The Olympic bid had been hyped for many months, so much so that it seemed that hardly a day went by without at least some news about it. It was on the local news, and towards the end of the bid, there was a huge marketing push by celebrities to bring the games to Chicago. In the past, I have seen movements, events, and the like that proved to be all hype and no substance. Even long before the voting, I felt that the hype was just that: something designed to build up excitement without regards to the problems facing our country nowadays. I would find myself practically avoiding this coverage over time, and I became fed up with it for a while. Somehow I sensed that this hype would not nearly be enough to win over the Olympic committee, and sure enough, I was right.

With all the financial problems facing America, perhaps it should not be that shocking that we did not receive the Olympics. It would take a lot of money to host the Olympics: building stadiums, promotions, and more. These days, such a huge amount of cash is hard to come by, and if people had to help cover these costs, it might bring them that much closer to being in the poor house. Americans need help badly: their jobs are being lost, their homes are facing foreclosure, and the last thing that they need is something like the Olympics where they are forced to help foot the bill. On top of that, our economic crisis seems to have had a ripple effect on the entire world, with other nations facing similar difficulties. As a result, they may not think too kindly of us, and thus they would refuse to have anything to do with us. Granted, the Olympic bid was in the works before the recession began in earnest, but the failure to prevent it from happening may have sealed the bid's fate.

There were people who also flat out opposed the bid for a variety of reasons. In addition to the aforementioned taxes involved, they feared that it would give the city further financial problems. Additionally, the promises made to help pay for the games may not have necessarily been fulfilled completely given the troubles we have been experiencing. While I did not oppose the bid outright, I did feel sorry for those people who would have been adversely affected within the next seven years had Chicago won the bid. They have no right to suffer in general, and especially so nowadays. Fortunately, they have been spared from any problems that may have come about, and for this, I am grateful.

The Olympic bid was also proof that celebrity power does not necessarily result in success. While it might have helped President Obama win the election, it failed to help us win the bid. Even the presence of Obama himself, along with Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfry, was not enough to guarantee success. I am not saying that the ball was dropped here, as the bid's fate may or may not have been predetermined even before this final push. I am just saying that this is one more reason that, even if you have internationally known personalities helping out, victory is not guaranteed. While I cannot say whether or not the star power actually hindered the bid, I can state that you need more than just celebrities and hype to ensure at least a fair chance at victory.

Whatever the committee's reasons for why they voted the way that they did, we may never know for sure; after all, it was a secret ballot. However, the reasons that I have listed may be likely factors as to why Chicago was eliminated so fast. I feel the pain of those who wanted to see the Olympics come to Chicago, and yet I feel that for these reasons and more, we may have been doomed to fail even before the voting took place. What I think should have happened was, first and foremost, the prevention of the economic crisis. If we had more money to spend on the games without putting many people in further financial distress, our chances of winning might have been better. The hype should have also been toned down, the plans should have been better thought out, and there should have been ways to make everyone happy about the Olympics coming to Chicago. If all of this was done, perhaps the bid would have been more successful.

At least Rio de Janeiro will have their Olympic dreams come true: having won the bid, they shall be the first South American country to host the games. For this, I am truly happy, and I trust that they will make the 2016 games grand. As for Chicago, if it wishes to start planning for the 2020 games and beyond, it will have hopefully learned from the bid's mistakes and improve upon its plans to ensure that the games will one day be held there. Perhaps it should take my advice to heart, as I feel that the bid was surely destined to fail even before the voting occurred. Maybe someday, our country will be financially healthy enough, with well thought out plans, to have the games come to Chicago for all the world to see. It may or may not happen in my lifetime, but I pray that the bid's errors will be corrected next time, or else it will still be destined to fall apart.