Athens, Rome, Stockholm, Cape Town and Buenos Aires were selected as finalists Friday in the race to hold the 2004 Summer Olympics.
The selection by the International Olympic Committee contained no upsets but kept alive the chances, however remote, of Africa or South America hosting the Summer Games for the first time. "I always thought the best solution was three from Europe, one from the Americas and one from Africa," IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch told The Associated Press.The six cities eliminated from a record field of 11 candidates were Istanbul; Lille, France; San Juan; Seville, Spain; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Rio de Janeiro. The United States did not have a city bidding for these games.
The city selected by the IOC on Sept. 5 will become Salt Lake City's international marketing partner. The 2002 Winter Games are packaged with the 2004 Summer Games by the IOC for its top-level sponsorship program.
Mike Korologos, spokesman for the Salt Lake Organizing Committee, said any of the cities would be a welcome addition to the program that generates hundreds of millions of dollars for the Olympic movement.
"Really, it doesn't make any difference to us. I think any one of them would make a great partner," Korologos said. "My heart goes out to all of them, having been there, done that."
There were no surprises among the five cities selected. Rome and Athens were front-runners, Stockholm was considered another strong European contender, Buenos Aires was the strongest South American candidate and Cape Town was the bid for all of Africa.
About the only uncertainty up until the final minute was whether the panel would opt for four finalists or five. The rules call for four, but the number could be raised to five by unanimous agreement.
"The college felt that considering the very high standards of the 11 bids, it would offer the opportunity for the highest number of finalist cities to submit their bids to the session," panel chairman Marc Hodler said.
The decision relied on geopolitical factors as much as the technical merits of the bids. It struck a geographical balance by including candidates from Europe, Africa and South America.Europe, which has hosted the summer games 14 times, dominated the field with seven candidates. Athens (1896), Rome (1960) and Stockholm (1912) have staged the games before.
The Olympics never have been held in Africa or South America. That left the IOC with the choice of whether to include Cape Town, Rio or Buenos Aires on the list.
This was the first time a cutoff procedure has been used in the race for a summer games. Some complained that the system is flawed and humiliating for those who don't make the final round, but most IOC officials were unsympathetic.
"They knew the system when they got into this," IOC vice president Dick Pound said. "It's not a surprise. What's more embarrassing? Do you want to be one of the 5-6 cities which isn't ready yet or the one that gets only a single vote from your own IOC member in the final round?"