President Obama’s visit to Copenhagen to canvas for Chicago’s candidacy as Olympic City 2016 was doomed to failure before the president even arrived in the Danish capital – a group of IOC nations had already decided to reject the city, Politiken has learned.

Voting on the choice between Chicago, Madrid, Rio or Tokyo had been decided beforehand as a result of what several major IOC organisations perceived as the American Olympic Committee’s greed. Chicago had been touted by bookmakers and many so-called experts as the favourite to win the voting sweepstake.

According to Politiken’s information, the coordinated action in rejecting Chicago came as a result of dissatisfaction with the fact that the American Olympic Committee is to receive a DKK 2.3 billion grant in the four-year period up to 2012 as a result of a permanent contract with the IOC.

The grant is the result of a contract between the two parties in connection with a loan to the IOC in the 1980s, at which time the IOC was in dire financial straits.

Since then, the IOC has become a financially strong organisation which earns more and more – something that is a major boost to the American Olympic Committee as it receives a percentage of IOC income.

Punishment
Since the American organisation was asked, but declined, to give up DKK 28 million of an increase of DKK 128 million from the previous four-year period in favour of the poorest IOC countries, a group of the major international sporting federations decided to take action, winning support from IOC members to punish Chicago.

According to Politiken’s information, the American Olympic Committee had been warned of the possible reaction, but no-one informed Chicago or the White House.