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Samaranch arrives in Moscow
Updated: Friday July 06, 2001 11:46 PM
MOSCOW (AP) -- Juan Antonio Samaranch arrived in Moscow on Friday, 10 days before the end of his 21-year reign as IOC president. Samaranch's successor will be chosen July 16, the final day of the IOC's 112th session, which opens at the Bolshoi Theater on Thursday night. The IOC will choose the host city for the 2008 Olympics on Friday. The candidates are Beijing; Toronto; Paris; Istanbul, Turkey; and Osaka, Japan. Beijing is seen as the front-runner despite widespread complaints about China's human rights record. Anti-China demonstrations are expected when the IOC meets in Moscow's riverside International Trade Center. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov told a news conference Friday that special security measures are being taken. The Russian organizing committee said police, the Interior Ministry, the Federal Security Service and the border guards service are involved in security operations. The five candidates to replace Samaranch are Anita De Frantz of the United States, Kim Un-Yong of South Korea, Dick Pound of Canada, Jacques Rogge of Belgium and Pal Schmitt of Hungary. Samaranch is to meet with former Russian President Boris Yeltsin. He is also to attend a wide variety of ceremonies honoring his Olympic career He was elected IOC president in 1980 in Moscow. His visit to the Russian capital will be marked by another milestone -- his 81st birthday comes the day after his successor is named.
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