Subject: CND Extra: Sydney Wins 2000 Olympic Games, September 23, 1993

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1993 13:57:28 -0500

*  *  *   C h i n a   N e w s   D i g e s t   *  *  *

                              CND Extra Report

                        Thursday, September 23, 1993

Table of Contents                                                  # of Lines
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1. Sydney Wins 2000 Olympic Games ......................................... 6
2. IOC To Vote On 2000 Games ............................................. 62
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1. Sydney Wins 2000 Olympic Games ......................................... 6
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Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu
Source: Reuter, 09/23/93

MONTE CARLO -- Sydney was awarded the 2000 Olympics by the International
Olympic Committee Thursday, president Juan Antonio Samaranch announced.

Sydney defeated its four rivals -- Beijing, Manchester, Berlin and Istanbul
-- although there was no immediate announcement of the final overall
finishing order.

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2. IOC To Vote On 2000 Games ............................................. 62
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Forwarded by: Chengyan Liu
Source: AP, 09/23/93

MONTE CARLO, Monaco -- In balloting of unprecedented secrecy, the Inter-
national Olympic Committee ends a costly, politically volatile contest
Thursday by choosing one of five contenders to host the 2000 Summer Games.

Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are expected to be watching the
live telecast when IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch opens a sealed
envelope and announces the winning city.

The secret balloting Thursday by the IOC's 89 voting members follows
final, 55-minute presentations by the bidders -- Beijing; Berlin; Sydney,
Australia; Manchester, England; and Istanbul, Turkey.

Berlin, with a delegation including tennis star and 1988 gold medal winner
Steffi Graf, opened the presentations by appealing for support to celebrate
the end of its Cold War division.

Sydney followed with a presentation emphasizing its modern infrastructure,
its political stability and its intention to provide "the athletes' Games."

"At the end of the day, only the interests of the athletes and the Olympic
movement count," said Kevan Gosper, an Australian member of the IOC. "We
promise the athletes of the world a superbly organized games."

Manchester was next, endorsed by British Prime Minister John Major and
Princess Anne, an IOC member.

Major noted that Britain's only two stints as an Olympic host, in 1908
and 1948, came on short notice when no other host could be found.

"My country has never been awarded the Games, never had a chance to plan
for them," Major said. "Now we wish to do so in the year 2000."

The chairman of Beijing's bid committee, Chen Xitong, said, "The closed
China of the past has now opened its doors."

"We fervently want to know more about the world and to have more friends
in the world know about us. Hosting the 2000 Games will open our door
still wider," he said.

Istanbul made the last appearance, with Turkish Prime Minister Tansu
Ciller appealing for an Olympic role in breaking down the cultural wall
between the West and the Islamic world.

In many ways, the three-year competition has been dominated by Beijing's
candidacy. It's been an ambitious, controversial attempt to bring the
Olympics to the world's most populous nation despite skepticism about
China's human rights record.

Beijing remained the favorite heading into the vote, but Manchester,
by several accounts, had slipped ahead of Sydney as the No. 2 prospect.
Berlin, hampered by local opposition to its bid, and Istanbul, which
sought to be the first Muslim host city, were considered out of the
running.

In contrast to past elections, the members will be told after each round
only which city was eliminated. They will not be told how the other
ballots were cast, and thus will be less likely to attempt tactical or
sympathy voting.

Some IOC members were intrigued by the potential impact of taking the
Games to China, whose 1.2 billion people represent one-fifth of the
world's population.

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