When five candidate cities collectively launched the first promotion since their delegations arrived here for the IOC 112th Session, Beijing received the most glaring publicity and overshadowed the other four contenders.

New Feeling

Bombarded by questions from media, Wang Wei, general secretary of the Beijing bid committee, left a question half answered when asked about a promotional film produced by a Chinese famous director.

"That means to be a big surprise, I can't say by now. But I think IOC will like it," said Wang.

Wang referred to well-known director Zhang Yimou, whose brainchildren have won major international awards. His promotional film will be part of the final presentation to the IOC members.

Another suspense is what Beijing will offer in its final presentation to the IOC Session, which will open on Thursday evening.

"I can't tell you now what Beijing will present because we want to give the IOC a new feeling," said Jiang Xiaoyu, vice president of the Beijing bid committee.

One thing, however, Jiang revealed is that Beijing has "emptied its arsenal" to ensure a sounding success in the final presentation.

"The presentation is the only chance for the candidate cities to promote themselves before all the IOC members. It is very important and every candidate is leaving no stones unturned to make it a success," said Jiang. "We will take care of every detail of the presentation to make it the best finale."

Tough Challenge

While Beijing is going all out for the final-stretch bid, the other four cities have not the least slackened their efforts in gaining more support or changing the bidding landscape as much as possible.

Beijing will face the toughest challenge from Toronto and Paris, as the IOC evaluation commission has rated all the three cities as those able to organize an "excellent" Games in 2008.

Toronto has oozed confidence to win the most coveted sporting prize as they turned on their charm and used every occasion to promote its athlete-oriented bid.

As many as 25 athletes have joined Toronto delegation to Moscow with different assignments such as taking interviews, helping promotion at presentation table and involving in lobbying effort.

Toronto also trumpeted its advantage in being a multicultural society and boasting a compact sport concept.

"About 100 languages are fluently spoken in Toronto, so there is always a little bit of home when you come here," said Mark Arsenault, Director of Communicaitons of the Toronto bid committee.

"We are particularly proud of having such a unique concept of having all sports really concentrated in downtown core. That is something no other bids can compare to.

"We got great bids for those elements. I awfully believe that Toronto has the biggest chance."

Paris also exuded confidence to take the win-or-lose race, stressing that it is a city, which can live up to the commitments.

"We have 65 percent of facilities, good climate, many highways, knowledge of organizing the Games, and good timing with TV," said Claude Bebear, president of the Paris bid committee.

"It is clear that we can have the Games in Paris without difficulty, while some cities have to accomplish a lot of work," he added.

Final Straw

For Osaka and Istanbul, the final lap of the 2008 Olympic race has been a matter of saving faces instead of winning prize.

Both their presentation tables have received few visiting reporters, a sharp contrast to Beijing's bustling scene.

But they did not think the 2008 race has been over for them, saying that they still have same chance as the other three bids.

"Following the evaluation report, three cities remain, and two cities outsiders, but I do not believe that," said Munehiko Harada, spokesman of the Osaka bid committee.

"I strongly believe that five cities are on the same level. It is going to be a tough race. This is sports, game is not over yet, " said he.

"As long as you do your best, the results will follow," he added.

Istanbul also put positive spin on the 2008 vote, although they admitted funding will be the highest hurdle for them to overcome.

"Twenty percent chances for every city," said Yalcin Aksoy, general manager of the Istanbul Preparation and Organizing council for the Istanbul Olympic Games.

"In the last really critical days the ones that made the least mistakes will have the chance to win the games," he said.

The IOC inspectors have reported that 10 billion U.S. dollars needs to be invested in transport, which carries risks under current financial crisis plaguing Turkey.

"What we have to convince the IOC members is that Istanbul should not be in crisis for seven years," he said.

(People’s Daily 07/11/2001)