About the Bid

In May 2007, Chicago was chosen as the U.S. Candidate City for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.  Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Houston were also in contention.

In September 2007, seven cities submitted application files to the International Olympic Committee, Baku (Azerbaijan), Chicago (USA), Doha (Qatar), Madrid (Spain), Prague (Czech Republic), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Tokyo (Japan).  That list was cut down to Chicago, Madrid, Rio and Tokyo as candidate cities in June 2008.

Chicago 2016 promises to host a compact Games along the city’s lakefront with dependence on existing and temporary venues.  Chicago also promises to host the greenest Games in Olympic history, with most of its venues serviced by accessible public transit.

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Read the Bid Book

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The 2016 bid race seems to be one of the most competitive races in recent memory, as each city has positives in their favor.  If Rio hosts, it would be the first city in South America to host an Olympic Games.  Tokyo’s bid so far has shown technical superiority, and Madrid boasts the most existing venues and public support.

Chicago seems to strike a balance between all the cities, as it has a compact Games plan, beautiful setting in the heart of the city, adequate transit system, many existing venues, strong backing from the business community and President Barack Obama as a strong supporter.  But some questions have been raised about Chicago’s bid, especially regarding government guarantees to cover any financial short falls.  Bid chairman Pat Ryan and Mayor Richard Daley are currently working to quell public skepticism about tax dollars used to fund the Games.  An important note to bring up – no U.S. city has ever lost money hosting an Olympic Games, but the controversy still persists.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will vote on October 2, 2009 to choose the host city of the XXXI Olympiad.

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