BERLIN, 20 April 2004 — IOC chief Jacques Rogge fanned Leipzig’s hopes of hosting the 2012 Summer Olympic Games yesterday when he said there was no reason a small city could not stage the showpiece event.
Rogge made his first official visit to the eastern German city — widely viewed as an outsider in the bidding — where he met German Interior Minister Otto Schily and viewed the city’s sporting facilities and building projects.
“Of course the Games are possible in a small city like Leipzig, especially with a lot of support from the region and its state,” the International Olympic Committee chief told a news conference. He added that 1994 Winter Games in Norway’s Lillehammer were a good example.
While he praised the government’s support for Leipzig’s bid and the concept of city-center Games, the Belgian declined to compare the city’s chances to those of eight other bidders.
“The IOC has no easy job,” Rogge said.
In January, Leipzig unveiled plans to stage the Olympics closely based around the city center.
However, the city’s campaign has been hit by the expulsion of several top officials amid allegations of links with the former East German Stasi secret police and of financial irregularities.
Despite the problems, the German government has continued to back the bid in the hope of giving the country’s deprived former Communist east a much-needed lift.
Following Rogge’s tour around Leipzig, Minister Schily said he was hopeful the bid could succeed. “After today my optimism has grown,” he said.
Leipzig, a city of around 500,000 inhabitants that was heavily bombed in World War Two, is counting on its manageable size as an asset in the contest with its much larger rivals.
London and Paris are the favorites among the nine cities which submitted bid details to the IOC.
The successful candidate will be decided by a vote of IOC members in Singapore in July 2005.
New York, Madrid, Moscow, Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro and Havana have also submitted bids. Athens will stage this year’s event in August and Beijing will host the 2008 edition.
