Friday, February 12, 2010

Buenos Aires will host the 2013 IOC meeting

Buenos Aires was chosen as the seat of the general assembly of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2013. Beat Argentina's capital Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) by 58 votes to 31 and secured the organization of the meeting, the most important of recent years, since it will resolve issues of vital importance for the Olympic movement: the succession of Belgian Jacques Rogge at the head of the IOC and the designation of the host city for the 2020 Summer Olympics, and decide what are the 25 sports "core" of the Olympic program.

"It's a huge opportunity for the country, a huge opportunity for the city," he showed promise Gerardo Werthein, president of the Argentine Olympic Committee (COA). "It's wonderful to reintegrate Buenos Aires in the world," added Werthein, excited by the strategic 'nature of the general assembly of 2013.

A total of 14 ran for cities hosting the Olympic assembly, but only Argentina's capital Kuala Lumpur and reached the final vote. To support the candidacy of Buenos Aires traveled former rugby Agustin Pichot and Deputy Secretary of Sports of the capital, Francisco Irarrázaval. Argentina's presentation began with a video of the city and words of Werthein speaking French. And had two videos of Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri, and President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Political confrontation, both encolumnaron behind the project of the candidacy of Buenos Aires.

In the presentation, a video showed the President's words: "I want to say that as President would be our great honor that the seat is the City of Buenos Aires, for which we offer all the help and support needed by the Committee for sit. We want to thank us permission to communicate, to connect with you to take these few words [...], that are warm and sincere offer on behalf of all Argentines do we wait in 2013 to you all. "

Macri, meanwhile, said: "We are ready, happy and eager to get to the Olympic family, royal families and authorities around the world and, incidentally, to meet, discuss and make decisions for the future of Olympic sport, enjoy one of the most powerful cultural offerings, more diverse and richer than at this time is in the Western world. "

The fifteen minutes that should last the exposure of Argentina's capital was closed with a video in which several athletes as Argentinean Lionel Messi, Juan Curuchet, Emanuel Ginobili and Gabriela Sabatini, "answered" Buenos Aires "to the question about where to performed the assembly of the IOC. Later, the Malaysian presentation was based on the successful meeting in Kuala Lumpur in 2002, but the count favored Buenos Aires, which, according to the AP, would have a budget of $ 3.4 million.

"We put a lot of desire and laburo Buenos Aires 2013, was a hellish job," confessed Werthein, and with the certainty that the capital of Argentina will, within three years and for a few days, the center of the Olympic movement.

1 comment :

Anonymous said...

Buenos Aires is definitely a city with great potential to be the seat of the general assembly of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2013.
Last year I visited the city and stayed at a Buenos Aires apartment and had a great time!
Hope I can return some time because this is such a marvelous city!