How Olympic host cities are chosen

This summer, millions of people will flock to Beijing, China to witness live the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Millions more will be glued to their TVs as the excitement takes place, making China this summer’s hub of international attention. How did Beijing earn such an esteemed position in the public eye? For that matter, how did Vancouver, Canada win the right to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, or London, England the 2012 Summer Olympics?

Selecting the host city for the Olympic Games is no simple matter. Hosting the Olympics is a highly coveted achievement for any city, as it brings with it grand international attention and, with the inrush of organizers, media, advertisers, athletes and their entourage, and (of course) spectators, provides a huge economic boon to any city bestowed with the honor. As such, the pursuit of the privilege of hosting the Olympics is a highly contentious competition in itself.

In 1999, at the 110th Session of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), a new two-phase election procedure was adopted for determining the host city for an upcoming Olympic games.

Firstly, any city interested in hosting the Olympics applies to become a candidate city by filling out an extensive application and questionnaire. Prospective host cities must also submit an emblem created to visually represent their candidature, and compose and deliver a 10-minute presentation introducing their management team to the IOC.

From there, a team of experts examines those applicant cities for certain basic technical requirements, both logistical (such as space, access, accommodations, transportation, and safety/security) and subjective (such as promotional plans, and plans for such ancillary events as parades and ceremonies, or an Olympic village).

At the end of this initial selection phase, the team submits to the IOC Executive Board a list of those applicants meeting the necessary specifications. For the 2008 Summer Olympics, for example, 10 cities met the proper qualifications to be considered by the Executive Board, those being: Bangkok, Beijing, Cairo, Havana, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Osaka, Paris, Seville, and Toronto.

Pending Executive Board approval, those cities then become Official Candidate Cities, given the authorization to move forward into the full bidding process. Continuing with the example of the 2008 Summer Olympics, only 5 of the original 10 submitted cities received approval by the Board and, consequently, permission to continue