Berlin Show A Boon for Networkers

Now that the race to host the 2012 Olympics is in the final lap, bid organizers are working hard to keep local interest and support alive. That’s one reason why you’ve been seeing an all-star lineup of celebrities and athletes pledging their support to NYC2012.Last week, the New York bid committee announced the support of Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, who backed away from the support he pledged to Paris only last month, blaming it on diplomacy. Chalk up a small early victory to New York.In March, NYC2012 boasted the support of Yoko Ono and Broadway star Tim Curry.While endorsements from marquee athletes may carry some weight with the IOC voters, they’re more likely to ignore the celebrities. However, the bid committee will hope that endorsements from prominent New Yorkers will raise awareness and encourage average citizens to embrace the bid and perhaps sign up to volunteer.NYC2012 has a goal to sign up more than 60,000 volunteers before the July 6 election to help with the bid, including people to spread the word as goodwill ambassadors and others to work at NYC2012 events. If this number can’t be achieved, it may cast some doubt on whether the organizers can recruit the much larger number required to stage the Games.Athens recruited a total of 160,000 volunteers in a campaign that began three years prior to the 2004 Olympic Games. Organizers held more than 90,000 interviews before selecting 48,000 people to guide visitors, serve food to athletes, and help in many other ways. Volunteers have become essential to successfully staging games since Peter Ueberroth first piloted the concept as head of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.The other 2012 competitors are lining up supporters, and London organizers seem to be playing this game the best after announcing Nelson Mandela’s endorsement of its bid this week. This came on the heels of a March report that Australian track star Cathy Freeman was behind the London bid, too.Last year, British soccer star David Beckham pledged his support to London even as his team, Real Madrid, endorsed Madrid’s bid.British adventurers are on a journey to plant a London 2012 flag at the North Pole – a stunt that comes after young Russian adventurers wrote the words “Peace Moscow 2012” in Antarctica, near the South Pole.Paris, not to be left out, recently announced the support of 150 stars of French haute cuisine.Each city has also rounded up support from multitudes of Olympians and Paralympians who are recruited to be bid evangelists within their respective sports. These are the supporters who can get closest to IOC voters and sway some votes.Meanwhile, the NYC2012 team is likely meeting today in preparation for the most important week of their bid campaign. They’ll be attending the SportAccord international sports convention at Berlin, Germany starting this weekend.SportAccord is a gathering of most of the major sports federations and organizations in the world. Many of them are holding their annual meetings right at the convention. The International Olympic Committee will have its executive board meeting there as well, so there will be several IOC members on hand – ready to meet, greet, and discuss the burning issues with all five 2012 aspirants.The opportunity is significant enough to demand the presence of Mayor Bloomberg, who is scheduled to attend the Berlin event.NYC2012 will occupy a small exhibit booth nestled between that of Paris and Moscow along “bidders’ row” near the entrance of the venue, but don’t expect the mayor or other bid leaders to be found there frequently.The SportsAccord will be an exclusive opportunity to meet one-on-one with the most important and influential IOC members and sports leaders around, and this kind of networking will be done in hallways, in the lounge, and other secluded spots out of earshot of the competition.Bid committees will also be given the opportunity to make 10-minute presentations to the delegates, in their second-to-last opportunity to do so before the July election. They’ll also present to African IOC members at Ghana in June.Without exaggeration, more votes could be won or lost at this convention than as a result of the high-profile IOC evaluation visit that was held earlier this year. Typically, discussions will center on more granular issues that pertain to individual sports and interests, rather than on more encompassing topics that are usually of interest at home, such as stadium locations and financing.Expect Deputy Mayor Daniel Doctoroff and his team to be at their best for this crucial event.Mr. Livingstone is the producer of gamebids.com.

Berlin Show A Boon for Networkers

Berlin Show A Boon for Networkers

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