New York City 2012 Olympic bid

The New York City 2012 Olympic bid was one of the five short-listed bids for the 2012 Summer Olympics, ultimately won by London 2012.

Related Topics:
Five short-listed bids - 2012 Summer Olympics - London 2012

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New York's Olympic Bid, run by the private non-profit organization NYC2012, was founded by Daniel L. Doctoroff, who was managing director of a successful privaty equity firm. Doctoroff was inspired to bring the Olympic Games to New York after witnessing New York's passionate international sports fans at a 1994 FIFA World Cup match in Giants Stadium. Single-handedly, he built a team to help him craft a plan for staging the Games and a strategy to help New York win its bid. Seven years after he founded the bid, Doctoroff resigned as President of NYC2012 to join the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He continued to lead New York's Olympic Bid as Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Rebuilding.

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Doctoroff viewed a New York Olympics as an opportunity to get major projects done in New York that had long been stalled by political intertia. Two of the biggest projects were the revival of the East River waterfront, including the construction of an Olympic Village across the river from the United Nations and an aquatics center in Brooklyn, and the construction of West Side Stadium, which was supposed to have led to the comprehensive redevelopment of the Far West Side of Manhattan. Other projects that were part of the bid included a rowing course in Queens, a velodrome in the South Bronx, a marina along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, an equestrian center in Staten Island, and the refurbishment of an historic armory in Harlem.

Related Topics:
East River - West Side Stadium

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Their bid may be hampered by the fact that the 2010 Winter Olympics are being held in Vancouver and organizers are believed to be eager to avoid having consecutive Olympics on the same continent. However Barcelona (1992), Lillehammer (1994), Athens (2004) and Turin (2006) have held or will soon hold the Olympics consecutively on the same continent. Additionally, the Olympics have been held in the United States as recently as 2002 (Winter olympics), 1996, and 1984. However, of the five candidates, only New York and Madrid have never hosted the Games before. Although New York was at one time expected to benefit from sympathy arising from the September 11 terrorist attacks, this potential advantage is believed to have been countered by both a lack of enthusiasm from New Yorkers and anti-American sentiment arisen from the 2003 Iraq war.

Related Topics:
2010 Winter Olympics - Vancouver - 2002 - 1996 - 1984 - September 11 terrorist attacks - 2003 Iraq war

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