Olympic hopeful city, Chicago, looses its bid for 2016. And the winner is.....

All the fuss over the Chicago push to get the 2016 Olympic and Mayor Daily asking President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle to help by making the pitch in Copenhagen, Denmark. Well the word came this morning that both Chicago and Tokyo lost their bid for the Games. I'm not sure it is net positive for a country to host the Olympics as the costs are always over run and the hassle of security is daunting. I was so impressed with China's Olympic Games that the Olympic Committee should have given it to China again, but that isn't going to happen. What a waste of investment dollars at a time when the world is trying to get their financial houses in order. Sorry Chicago and Tokyo. It looks like Madrid, Spain or Rio De Janeiro, Brazil will be the victor or loser depending on what you think of the financial burden. The city selected was Rio.

I refer you to this article from NPR yesterday titled, "Olympic Caveats: Host Cities Risk Debt, Scandal" by Howard Berkes, and in the article is this quote, "There has never been an Olympic Games that has made a profit," says Robert Barney, director of the International Centre for Olympic Studies at the University of Western Ontario. Barney is also co-author of Selling the Five Rings: The International Olympic Committee and the Rise of Olympic Commercialism.