Olympics: Chicago bid uses newspaper wraparound promotion
Associated Press
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ISTANBUL, Turkey � Chicago got a jump on its three rivals for the 2016 Summer Games ahead of Friday's presentations to the European Olympic Committees.
Delegates at the conference hotel woke up to find free copies of the International Herald Tribune newspaper with a glitzy wraparound advertising supplement promoting Chicago's bid.
The front featured a full-page color photo of Chicago's downtown skyline and Millennium Park with the headline "A Spectacular Setting For Sport."
The two inside pages carried photos of volleyball, boxing, triathlon, wheelchair racing, the Chicago Marathon and the Taste of Chicago food festival.
"Each year tens of millions of people attend cultural festivals and sporting events in Chicago's lake front parks and around the city," the supplement said. "Chicago's passion for sport is visible throughout the year in massive participation, cheering sections for every team and sold-out events in every arena."
The back page featured a larger photo of the lakefront setting where the Olympic Park would be located.
"Many of these locations are just steps away from the best that Chicago has to offer � cultural institutions, shopping, dining and the main entertainment district," it said.
The newspaper supplement was distributed to delegates hours before Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro were to make 20-minute presentations to the European assembly, the largest regional body in the Olympic movement.
Chicago's presentation was expected to include a video message from U.S. President-elect Barack Obama, who lives a few blocks from the city's planned 2016 Olympic stadium.
The full IOC will select the host city at its session in Copenhagen, Denmark, next October.