Chicago Named One of Four 2016 Summer Olympic Finalists

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) eliminated three cities making a bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, leaving Chicago standing among the four finalists. The selection marks the final phase of the application process that cities must undergo in order to be selected as a host for the Olympics.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the City of Chicago was tied for third place after the IOC members evaluated all bidding cities for the same qualifications. Tokyo and Madrid led the cities in evaluations and Rio de Janeiro came in a close fourth.

Among the concerns named were Chicago's transportation problems, something that every Chicagoan is concerned with on a daily basis. The Chicago Transit Authority declares budget crisis's like clockwork, that not only threaten to stop the el trains and buses but result in increased fares.

In addition to the transportation concerns that were expressed by the IOC, there is still the matter of building all the Olympic venues necessary to host the games. Chicago has plenty of space to build, but would need to get started building as soon as any decision was made in order to be ready for the Summer Olympics.

As a native Chicagoan, I would be proud to see the city host the Games. Chicago is the result of international gathering, just take a walk through any of our neighborhoods to see for yourself.

Despite some major flaws in the eyes of the IOC, Chicago made it into the top four and with good reasons. The city has several things going for it and would make a better Olympic Host for these games than the other three choices.

London will be hosting the Summer Games in 2012, so having the next Summer Olympics in another European country would not make sense. For that reason Chicago is already a better choice than Madrid.

Following the same line of thinking, Beijing will be hosting this years Summer Olympic Games. So in order we have 2000 in Sydney, 2004 in Greece, 2008 in Beijing, and 2012 in London. It is time the games came to the Americas, leaving Chicago and Rio de Janeiro as the best possible choices.

Rio does have two big advantages over Chicago when it comes to the decision. Rio has all the venues needed to host the Olympic Games since it just hosted the Pan American Games a year ago and built several stadiums. In addition, it would be the first city in Latin America to host an Olympic Games.

So, why is Chicago a better choice than Rio de Janeiro? Well, it is hard to say that Chicago is a better choice based on the qualifications of the two cities. Rio is a gorgeous destination for the Games, and despite a few bumps the city has shown that it can handle large scale events. Still, the whole world will be in Rio in 2014 for the World Cup, so why not give us the Olympics.

In regards to all the cities in the final four, Chicago has the advantage of being able to keep all the events in the city itself or very close to the city. A host city like Madrid will need to move many events outside of the city, especially any outdoor water events.

And finally, we have been waiting over one hundred years to turn in our IOU. In 1904 the Olympic Games were moved from Chicago to St. Louis in order to coincide with the 1904 World's Fair. It's time the Games were held here and we are ready for it.

Sources:

STEPHEN WILSON, IOC picks Chicago among 4 finalists for 2016 Summer Olympics, The Chicago Tribune