Blair Might Have Started New Era in Olympic Bids

British Prime Minister Tony Blair may have revolutionized the Olympic bid process by lobbying intently for London in its successful quest to play host to the 2012 Games.

Now, with the U.S. Olympic Committee weighing a 2016 bid and Los Angeles among five American cities under consideration, the game plan that delivered the Games to London a year ago Thursday has become a template -- and challenge -- for U.S. officials.

Traditionally, U.S. bid committees operated at some distance from federal, state and even local government, but Blair’s integral involvement raises some provocative questions. Among them:

Should a U.S. president stump for a future American bid?

“That’s a hard one,” Blair said in a telephone interview. “People might find it intimidating.”

However, he added, “People really want to win and it’s every shoulder to the wheel.”

Moreover, winning the right to stage a Games requires an emphasis on Olympic values, a professionalized approach to bidding for and then running the Games, and, key, Blair said, the unabashed support of government.

“From now on in I don’t think you will find the bids being done in anything other than a very, very professionally worked-out way, and obviously the fact that government stands behind it is an important part of that,” Blair said.

The International Olympic Committee will decide on a host for the 2016 Summer Games in 2009. Besides Los Angeles, the USOC is considering San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia and Houston as possible entrants.

A U.S. bid would likely be considered a strong candidate after Games in Europe in 2012, Asia in 2008 (Beijing), Europe in 2004 (Athens) and Australia in 2000 (Sydney). The most recent Summer Games in the U.S. were held in Atlanta in 1996.

Noting that “the American president is the head of state and that is a different position from being prime minister,” Blair stopped well short of advising U.S. officials to directly involve the president.

“I think being the American president, you’ve got to work out -- and you work this out at the time -- whether having your president there helps or not,” Blair said.

“It was felt me being there would help. You can never be sure.”

President Bush sent a videotaped message of support for New York in its bid to host the 2012 Games.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) was the senior U.S. official on site in Singapore when IOC members voted a year ago July 6. In the final voting, London edged Paris, 54-50. New York finished fourth.

USOC Chairman Peter Ueberroth said, “I don’t know who is going to be our president in 2009, but for us to win we need a new form of political support.” He predicted London would not have won without Blair’s enthusiastic backing. “Without his participation, in my view, London would have finished third,” Ueberroth said. “I believe that completely.

“He’s a unique individual who not only took the time to talk to so many members, he knew all their backgrounds and dossiers and influence points. He had done his homework.”

In contrast to French President Jacques Chirac, whose role in Singapore on behalf of Paris proved limited, Blair met one-on-one with 34 IOC members. In addition, Blair said he spoke with perhaps another 30 at receptions.

Blair said he never asked for a vote, instead emphasizing “how we could offer a modern Olympics; do something for the Olympic movement as well as for London.”

He added, “In the end, the difference someone like myself can make is not the most important thing. But I suppose it can matter if it was a close vote, which it was in this case.”