Olympic Games: Manchester lodge bid
MANCHESTER'S bid for the 2000 Olympic Games was officially presented to Juan Antonio Samaranch at the International Olympic Committee's headquarters in Lausanne yesterday by Bob Scott, the chairman of Manchester 2000.
Following presentations by Berlin and Peking last week, Manchester was yesterday joined by Milan, Istanbul, Sydney and Brasilia in delivering their bid documents on deadline day, leaving seven candidates in the race which will be decided in September. The Prime Minister, John Major, meanwhile, has announced that he will meet Samaranch this spring in an effort to push Manchester's claims.
When Birmingham applied to host the 1992 Olympic Games and Manchester the 1996 event, Government disinterest was cited as one of the reasons for the failure of both bids. The Government has already pledged pounds 70m in financial assistance for Manchester 2000.
'This has been a crucial day for us and I am happy to say we have passed it with flying colours,' Scott said. 'But the real race is on now as we wait for president Samaranch and the examining committee to study the bids and decide who are still in. Our bid- book ran to around 500 pages and I can say it represents a really high-technology effort.'
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