Czech Republic May Soon Drop 2016 Olympic Bid

Posted December 14, 2007 at 03:42 PM by Jimmie R. Markham

Section: Summer 2016

Most people don’t think about these things too often, but it cost a lot of money to host an Olympic Games. It will cost some Kč124 Billion (Czech Koruna), which translates to $7 Billion (USD) to stage the 2016 Games of the XXXI Olympiad in Prague, Czech Republic. That’s why Tomas Petera, the head of Praha Olympijska (Olympic Prague), the organization that has launched a bid for the Games, is in a bit of a panic. He is considering withdrawing Prague’s bid unless he can quickly get some guarantees from the Czech government to fund half the costs required to conduct the event. “Without it, our chances equal zero,” Petera said. “We are going to have to make a final decision whether to bid or not some time between now and Jan. 14, depending on whether we have the guarantees.”

A withdrawal from Prague would add to a growing list of several dozen cities that have canceled their bids for the 2016 summer games. The other six cities with their names still in the hat are Baku, Azerbaijan; Chicago, United States; Doha, Qatar; Madrid, Spain, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Tokyo, Japan.

Sources: [International Herald Tribune][Wikipedia]