Obama urges IOC to choose Chicago

Oct 2 2009

Barack Obama launched an emotional appeal to the International Olympic Committee to choose his home city Chicago to host the 2016 Games.

Chicago and Rio de Janeiro are viewed as favourites to win the contest ahead of Madrid and Tokyo and the US president flew into Copenhagen in time to speak at Chicago's final presentation to the IOC ahead of the vote at 5.30pm this afternoon.

"I urge you to choose Chicago, I urge you to choose America," Obama told the 106 IOC members. "If you do, if we walk this path together, then I promise you this, the city of Chicago and the United States of America will make the world proud."

His wife Michelle Obama, also from Chicago, spoke at the presentation about her late father who suffered from multiple sclerosis.

"He showed me how to throw a ball and a mean right hook better than any boy in the neighbourhood," she said.

London's successor as host city of the summer Olympics has been rated as one of the closest of all time.

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said: "Any one of these four cities could deliver a great Olympics - this is probably the highest quality contest there has been.

"It is very close competition and it could all be decided by the final presentations."