Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 24, 1993 TAG: 9309240012
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MONTE CARLO, MONACO LENGTH: Medium
In a secret ballot by the International Olympic Committee, Sydney beat Beijing on the final round by just two votes - 45-43.
The Chinese capital, which was considered the slight favorite, led in each of the first three rounds but was unable to pick up enough support to gain an overall majority.
Dropping out in the previous rounds were Istanbul, Turkey; Berlin; and Manchester, England.
The decision to return the Games to Australia for the first time since the 1956 Melbourne Olympics was announced live to a worldwide television audience by IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch.
In choosing Sydney over Beijing, the IOC went for the safer candidate, a glamorous, cosmopolitan city with superior sports facilities and technology.
"We know this is the perfect decision," said IOC director general Francois Carrard. "The Olympic movement is in good hands."
Beijing had offered the powerful symbolic impact of holding the Games of the new millennium in a nation of 1.2 billion people - one-fifth of the world's population - as it opens up to the rest of the world.
But awarding the Games to China would have prompted further outcry from human rights critics, including members of the U.S. Congress. There may also have been concern over the uncertain political future in China, ruled by 88-year-old Deng Xiaoping.
"If there was a difference in the vote it was clearly between the risk-takers and the non risk-takers," said Dick Pound, a powerful executive board member from Canada who had lobbied for Beijing.
Some members felt it was too soon for China to get the Games, with 2004 a more realistic target.
Chinese officials said they would consider bidding again for 2004.
"Of course we are disappointed, but they [the Australians] conducted themselves in a sportsmanlike way, and we are happy for them," said Wei Jizhong, secretary general of the Chinese Olympic Committee.
Chinese officials in the audience appeared stunned by the announcement and offered polite applause as members of the Sydney delegation shouted in glee.
Human rights officials immediately praised the decision to deny the Games to China.
"This decision puts the Chinese leadership on notice that they will pay a price for the continued abuse of their own citizens," said Richard Dicker, a lawyer for Human Rights Watch in New York.
Some officials had said putting the Games in Beijing could help speed reforms in China.
In the end, the votes from Berlin and Manchester swung the balance for Sydney. John Coates, head of the Australian Olympic Committee, said Sydney received 8 of 11 votes from Manchester and 7 of 9 from Berlin.
Sydney's victory, after unsuccessful Australian bids for the 1992 and 1996 Games, resulted from steady insistence that the harbor city could provide state-of-the-art infrastructure and cater best to the needs and wants of the athletes.
Despite its beauty and facilities, Sydney had been considered to be at a slight disadvantage because of the 16-hour time difference with the eastern United States, which could affect TV rights fees.
The Sydney Games are planned for the last two weeks of September.
by CNB