(2016-0245-F) Sydney Olympic Bid

The materials in FOIA 2016-0245-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. Sydney narrowly beat out Beijing (the final vote was 45-43) as host city for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. Attractive features that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) considered in awarding the bid included the city’s impressive history with respect to being supportive of sports, its promise to make use of recovered toxic wastelands as possible sites for stadiums, and its desire to look to the smaller countries of Oceania when assessing where some lesser sports might take place. The preparations and the Games themselves came off with little in the way of glitches. Slight cost overruns and a ticket scandal proved to be just minor blimps in an overall outstanding record. Journalists in the international media lauded Sydney, saying the city had set an example that would be hard to match. James Mossop of the Electronic Telegraph declared the Games “such a success that any city considering bidding for future Olympics must be wondering how it can reach the standards set by Sydney.” The final vote giving the Games to Sydney, Australia occurred on September 23, 1993. Five cities made formidable presentations to the IOC Session in Monte Carlo describing how they would go about hosting the 2000 Summer Olympics. Besides Sydney and Beijing (China), Manchester (Great Britain), Berlin (Germany) and Istanbul (Turkey) were finalists in the process. Berlin emerged as an early favorite on the heels of a decade of reconstruction and reunification. However, just four days prior to the deciding vote in Monaco anti-Olympic protestors took to the streets of the city and argued that the awarding of the Games would involve funds that could be better spent on bringing the two Germanies closer together. Thus Berlin’s bid fell by the wayside. Manchester initially looked like it would receive serious consideration from the IOC. In the end, everyone could see that the city needed an even stronger regenerative effort to wipe out poverty and to further strengthen a fragile economy. Hurting its bid and providing more ammunition to opponents, a promotional video viewed by the IOC included footage of London landmarks such as Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge. Predictably the British media found the city’s bid “suffering from an identity crisis.” This proved to be fatal to the efforts of Manchester to host the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. Four rounds of voting occurred prior to the final decision of the IOC vis-à-vis what city would serve as host for an event referred to by some people as the Games of the New Millennium. Beijing led in every instance except the last one. Sydney’s totals took a dramatic increase in the final two rounds of voting. Round-by-round Sydney’s vote counts were as follows: 30, 30, 37, 45. Many feared that Beijing would express its dissatisfaction with the outcome through protest marches, the boycotting of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games held in Atlanta, or by resuming underground nuclear testing (a clear violation of a worldwide moratorium currently in place against the process). Instead China concentrated on making another bid to host the Games at some point in the near future. Its efforts paid off in 2001 when the IOC picked the city to host the 2008 Summer Olympics. Records responsive to this FOIA include correspondence, lists, memoranda, newspaper articles, resumes, schedules, publications, notes, press briefings, summaries, and reports. Much of the material concern composition of the official U.S. Delegation to the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. Speculation centered around Chelsea Clinton being head of the group going to Australia. Many people thought athletes who had excelled in Olympic competition should have a place on the committee. Other topics covered in the collection include a new anti-doping strategy for the upcoming games and security concerns that needed to be addressed. The WHORM-Subject File contains correspondence in the form of one letter from President Clinton to John D. Coates, President of the Australian Olympic Committee. In the missive (dated February 20, 1997), the Chief Executive expressed his appreciation for the welcome given him by everyone involved and raved about the round of golf he played at New South Wales Golf Club. Clinton viewed it as “one of the highlights of my trip to Australia.” He held no reservations about the hospitality of the country and thought “Sydney will be a wonderful host city for the Olympic Games in 2000.” The White House Staff and Office files contained records mainly concentrated in Cabinet and Intergovernmental Affairs. Some of the documents proved to be newspaper articles focusing on the 2002 Winter Olympic Games to be held in Salt Lake City and what lay in the future for Juan Antonio Samaranch, head of the IOC for more than two decades, 1980-2001. Another issue that came up (being discussed in memoranda) revolved around who would be designated to represent the United States at Sydney in 2000. Containing memoranda, publications, press briefings, and correspondence, the files of Anne Bovaird in Cabinet Affairs address several important topics. One area dealt with at length is the ARCO Olympic Training Center located in Chula Vista, California. Pamphlets and publications discuss the facility in detail, calling it groundbreaking in every way and as being “dedicated to the development of America’s future Olympic athletes.” An additional matter brought up for discussion in the course of press briefings was the idea of the observation of an Olympic truce while the Sydney Games took place. The IOC specifically wanted President Clinton to call a halt to hostilities in Iraq. Traditionally this type of agreement had been in place for previous Olympic Games. The files of Thurgood Marshall, Jr. (also in Cabinet Affairs) are composed of memoranda, lists, agendas, correspondence, and newspaper articles. Memos and lists center around the composition of the official U.S. Delegation to the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. At times the listing of names is annotated; in other instances particular offices are connected with proposed appointees. For example, the Office of Public Liaison wanted Donna DeVeronica, an ex-Olympic swimmer, to be sent to Sydney. A multitude of former Olympic athletes (Carl Lewis, Edwin Moses, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, etc.) get suggested as possible members of the U.S. Delegation. In the files of Mickey Ibarra (Intergovernmental Affairs), there can be found records principally relating to the anti-doping strategy employed by the United States with the approach of the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. Memoranda and reports deal with this topic extensively beginning on October 13, 1999 and the appearance of General Barry McCaffrey, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), before the Senate Commerce Committee investigating the use of drugs in sports. Several copies of the report (“Strategy: Enhancing U.S. and International Anti-Doping Programs”) released simultaneously with McCaffrey’s testimony are sprinkled throughout the collection. A recommendation coming out of the paper (and emphasizing the international aspect of the study) says that measures should be taken to “strengthen efforts to assist other nations [to] combat drug use and doping in sport.” A matter that comes up in Ibarra’s files is who exactly represented the United States at past Olympic Games. Lists surface showing “Tipper” Gore, Mary Lou Retton, and Herbie Hancock as being at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Greg Anthony as attending the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.