Feeling slighted
Turin criticizes IOC evaluation of its Olympic bid
Posted: Tuesday March 16, 1999 03:13 PM
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Unhappy with the official evaluation of its Olympic candidacy for the 2006 Winter Games, Turin's bid committee on Tuesday complained it had been unfairly criticized.
Because of "the existence of errors that penalize our bid ... which are debatable," Turin said it wanted to set things straight with the IOC Evaluation Commission.
One of the Italian's primary complaints was the Commission's "unacceptable" suggestion that high levels of pollution might cloud some of the host valleys.
"We consider absolutely unacceptable ... the reference to possible elevated levels of pollution in the Valle Susa," Turin's bid committee said in response to the evaluation report. "Such a phenomenon can only concern the lower part of the valley, which does not involve the Games."
Turin added even in those lower areas, such levels of pollution were rare.
According to Turin, the general reference to the entire Susa Valley could "easily generate the unfounded impression that the mountain competition sites have pollution problems."
The Italians also denied any problem with hotel prices, which seemed to concern the Commission.
"The statement that the Bid Committee has not yet considered the problem of hotel prices is untrue," Turin's response said. "In fact the Hotel Association's letters of guarantee quoted in our report contain an explicit commitment to respect the conditions and tariffs of the Host City Contract."
The Italian bid committee said it had already obtained guarantees by hotels in Turin and mountain sites for 1000 rooms during the period of the Games.
The Italians said they were also disappointed the Commission did not fully appreciate the number and quality of their national and international highways, and railway connections, one of the bid's strong points. They also denied any discrepancies existed between many travel times and the figures quoted in the bid submission.
According to Turin, "the Commission's remarks are unacceptable due to their vagueness.
"We do not believe the Commission, on the basis of only one bus trip, can objectively come to this type on conclusion."
The bid committee also felt the IOC had downplayed the population's support for hosting the Games, insisting it should be qualified at least as "considerable" or "strong."
Turin also felt slighted by the fact the Commission failed to highlight that Italy is part of the European Monetary Union and therefore had advantages in terms of economic and monetary stability. It also disappointed the evaluation did not mention the fact the Italian market is five-to-10 times larger than the ones of the other candidacies.
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