Athens, Greece; Cape Town, South Africa; Stockholm, Sweden; and Rome are among the record 11 cities that submitted bids for the 2004 Summer Games by the International Olympic Committee's Wednesday deadline.
The city that the IOC chooses in September 1997 to host the 2004 Summer Games will become Salt Lake City's partner in the most lucrative Olympic sponsorship program, known as TOP.That program, marketed by the IOC, is expected to make more than $300 million from the 1994 Winter Games in Lillehammer and the 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta from sponsors such as Coca-Cola, IBM, Kodak and Visa.
The other cities bidding for 2004 are Buenos Aires, Argentina; Istanbul, Turkey; Lille, France; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Seville, Spain; and St. Petersburg, Russia.
The highest previous number of bidders for an Olympics was nine for the 2002 Winter Games, which were awarded to Salt Lake City last June. Seven cities competed for the 2000 Summer Games, which went to Sydney, Australia.