Atlanta Wines, Dines Visiting IOC Members

In the final major push to have Atlanta selected for the site of the 1996 Olympic Games before the International Olympic Committee vote next September in Tokyo, 10 IOC members are spending five days in Atlanta.

The visit, which begins tonight, marks the second time a sizable IOC contingent has visited Atlanta.

For the Atlanta Organizing Committee, the visit is a drill in precision baggage handling, formation limousine driving and spontaneous crowd enthusiasm. Leaving nothing to chance, the AOC has scripted the visit with a 50-page program.

“Every single minute is accounted for,” said William Payne, the committee’s president.

For the IOC members and their families, Atlanta is one more stop on the tour of cities eager to host the games, a prize that brings prestige combined with an economic boost of more than $4 billion.

Six cities are competing for the Games, and Atlanta is considered among the front-runners with Toronto and Melbourne. Athens remains a factor because 1996 will mark the centennial of the modern Games, which were first held in that city. Concerns about political stability, finances and the potential of terrorism have, however, damaged the Greek bid.

“The visits themselves are important now because it’s getting closer to voting time,” Payne said. “In most cases they’ve read the bid books. They’re asking more questions, looking harder at everything.”

IOC members will be led on tours of existing and envisioned Olympic venues at Georgia Tech, downtown Atlanta and Stone Mountain Park on Thursday morning. After that, they and their families will fly to Savannah aboard jets contributed by Atlanta businesses.

On nearby Skidaway Island, which would be the site of Olympic yachting, the IOC members will tour the 257-year-old Wormsloe Plantation. Then they will sail on The Highlander, the 151-foot, $12-million yacht that belongs to the family of the late multimillionaire Malcolm Forbes. When they return to Savannah, the AOC script calls for a greeting by fireworks and a jubilant crowd.

When they return to Atlanta on Friday, they will be welcomed by a reception at the Marriott Marquis and taken to dinner at private homes. Saturday morning, they will witness a footrace with 10,000 runners. Saturday night, the white marble lobby of Atlanta City Hall will be converted into a classy restaurant.

Agustin Arroyo, the IOC member from Ecuador, said the visits are crucial.

“They show that you have organization capacity,” said Arroyo, who came to Atlanta for the previous tour. “Anyone can take care of two, but to take care of 23 as you did in September, that shows us something.”