Five Cities Present Themselves before IOCThe five 2008 Olympic bidding cities have begun delivering their final presentations ahead of Friday's vote in Moscow.The winner will be revealed at around 1830 local time, with Beijing competing against Toronto, Paris, Istanbul and Osaka. Members of the International Olympic Committee are listening to officials from each delegation before casting their votes in a secret electronic ballot. The city with the lowest votes in each round is blew out of the running until one gains an outright majority. Osaka was first to put its case, followed by Paris, who persuaded the world's most expensive footballer Zinedine Zidane to appear as part of their presentation. Osaka Olympic bid organizers emphasized government pledge of unqualified financial support. Osaka mayor Takafumi Isomura said the Japanese government's " unqualified guarantee" of financial support. "It is our absolute conviction that this, my city Osaka, is well qualified for a very special Olympic Games," he said. Mi-Sa Yang, a 14-year-old violinist played the Olympic anthem and American Olympic champions Maurice Greene and Stacy Dragila praised the efficiency of the Osaka grand prix athletics meeting. Toronto once again stressed its idea of the Games "by athletes and for athletes". Beijing will submit its presentation 1500 local time, followed by Istanbul. |
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