Everyone Ready for 1992 Olympics? : Sites of Winter and Summer Games to Be Selected Today

There are international cities such as Paris, Barcelona and Amsterdam.

There are cities that want to be known internationally such as Anchorage, Alaska; Birmingham, England; Sofia, Bulgaria; Brisbane, Australia, and Belgrade, Yugoslavia.

There are famous resorts such as Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, and Berchtesgaden, West Germany. There are resorts that would like to become famous such as Albertville, France; Falun, Sweden, and Lillehammer, Norway.

The one thing they have in common is that all want to join the exclusive club of Olympic host cities in 1992. Seven cities are bidding for the Winter Games, six for the Summer Games.

In presenting their cases, they are believed to have spent between $70 million and $100 million. Barcelona was the most extravagant with a $10-million campaign for the Summer Olympics. Paris, its close rival, spent $8.5 million.

Only two of the candidates will have chances for returns on their investments after 89 International Olympic Committee members vote today at the close of their 91st session.

Presented for your consideration:

SUMMER CANDIDATES Four Amsterdam protesters, representing an environmentalist group called “Olympics No” sneaked into the Palais de Beaulieu early last week but were quickly ejected by security forces.

So they called for reinforcements.

About 30 protesters gathered outside the palace gates Thursday, hurling rocks, eggs and epithets until the police turned the German shepherd dogs loose and chased the environmentalists down the streets of Lausanne.

Bombs are exploding almost daily in Barcelona, where a Catalan independence group known as “Free Land” is violently opposed to the Games. It thinks the money should be spent for other purposes. But at least, IOC members don’t have to witness it on the way to work.

Barcelona remains the favorite largely because of the influence of popular IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who was born in the city and has a home there.

Samaranch has been careful to show no favoritism, to the point of announcing that he will not vote today, but many IOC members, appreciative of the president’s progressive leadership since 1980, are eager to reward him.

Almost as important as the Samaranch connection, Barcelona has the blessing of Adidas president Horst Dassler, one of the most influential men in sports.

Officials from bidding cities visit him to kiss his ring, then stand vigil outside to see when the smoke rises from his chimney, indicating he has made a decision.

Barcelona officials argue that Spain never has been host to the Olympics, unlike all five of the countries represented by the other summer candidates. This is Barcelona’s fourth bid.

Paris has had the Summer Olympics twice, but its officials contend that history is on their side. They believe the Games should return to Paris in 1992 because that is the 100-year anniversary of a speech at the Sorbonne by French nobleman Pierre de Coubertin that revived the Olympic movement.

The Spanish, however, are also claiming an endorsement from the baron, who visited the city in 1926 and said, “I thought I knew what a sporting city was about until I came to Barcelona.”

Not to be outdone, Birmingham officials claim that he attended the Olympian Games of 1890 in Much Wenlock, a sleepy village outside the city and there got his inspiration for the modern Olympics.

Birmingham is tainted by its unemployment problems and the riots last year that were triggered by a drug crackdown, as well as by the African boycott of the Commonwealth Games in Scotland last July because of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s failure to impose sanctions on South Africa.

But no city is perfect. Barcelona and Paris have terrorists. Amsterdam has environmentalists. When IOC members were taking a boat ride down a canal through the city last year, they were pelted with flour bombs.

The protesters also have a creative side. They have released a video that shows a terrorist stealing the Olympic torch from a paunchy runner and using it to light a bomb and a marijuana cigarette.

All of this has put the Amsterdam organizing committee in Dutch with the IOC, but that is better than being in Australia. Brisbane is considered too remote.

No one seems to have a bad word to say about Belgrade, though, which indicates either an outstanding bid or a lack of interest.

WINTER CANDIDATES Falun officials have issued a poster that says: “A Pessimist Sees a Problem in Every Task; an Optimist Sees a Mission in Every Problem.”

Falun has a problem.

Uh, a mission.

In rejecting two previous bids from Falun, IOC members complained that the Alpine ski areas are 236 miles from the city. Attempting to prove that wasn’t a problem, Falun officials last year invited IOC members to take a helicopter ride to the mountains. They never got off the ground because of fog.

It will not be an upset if Falun wins, but more likely choices are Sofia and Albertville.

The capital of Bulgaria, Sofia has the best facilities and the support of the Soviet Bloc.

Albertville is expected to have support from IOC members who don’t plan to vote for Paris, the feeling being that they won’t reject France twice.

Albertville also has popular skier Jean-Claude Killy, triple gold-medal winner in the 1968 Winter Olympics, as one of its leading organizers.

Anchorage officials, however, point out that Killy comes to Alaska each winter to ski.

Not having been blessed with celebrities, Anchorage brought a dancing moose to Lausanne but won’t let her talk. “Mickey Mouse doesn’t talk at Disneyland,” rationalized one Anchorage official.

Considering their political naivete, Anchorage officials have made an impressive bid, becoming an early favorite for 1994.

Sofia brought tennis player Manuela Maleeva, but the Swedes countered with Bjorn Borg. He carved a roast and posed for pictures but didn’t seem to know much to say about winter sports in Falun.

Presumably, Berchtesgaden couldn’t arrange for Boris Becker to appear. It has a serious mission in that it is best remembered as Hitler’s winter home. Berchtesgaden officials instead have been emphasizing the city’s ties to Mozart.

Marathon runner Grete Waitz is the spokesperson for Lillehammer, but most people want her to speak about her favorite for the Summer Games.

“It makes no difference,” she said. “I will be retired by 1992.”

Actress Gina Lollobrigida already is retired, but Cortina d’Ampezzo still called on her.

Cortina officials claim they have the best ski conditions, using the persuasive argument that several IOC members have winter homes there.

But Anchorage officials contend the skiing is better in Alaska.

“Gina Lollobrigida can kiss our moose,” one of them said.

There’s no business like snow business.

THE VOTERS Sofia has one guaranteed vote from Bulgaria’s IOC member, Vladimir Stoytchev.

He is 94 and has not left his hotel this week except to go to the corner pharmacy. But he intends to be at the palace today to vote.

Stoytchev is the oldest of the IOC’s 89 members, but he has competition. There are 31 members over 70, 6 of whom are over 80. The average age is 64. The IOC executive board wanted to change from the traditional paper ballots to the quicker, more efficient electronic voting for this session but feared several members would be too confused by the modern technology.

“You have to prop up some of the these guys to vote,” one IOC member said this week.

Adhering to its democratic principles, the IOC has asked its youngest member, Prince Albert of Monaco, to help distribute ballots.

Democratic? Yes.

Rational? Not always.

Even though it appears that Barcelona and either Sofia or Albertville are the favorites today, longtime observers of the IOC caution against predicting the outcome of voting.

There is the Soviet Bloc, an African bloc, a Spanish-language bloc, etc., but the alliances often fall apart because the balloting is secret. The IOC will select the winter city first, but the results will not be announced until after the summer voting in the morning.

Members sometimes ignore politics and vote with their hearts. Birmingham officials complain they can’t change the mind of one member, who has vowed to vote for Paris because that is where he met his wife.