The procedure, now, is commonplace. A glitzy stage, manned by executives in suits, an envelope dramatically opened. Then, cheers from representatives of the successful bid. Despite these regular, euphoric scenes not every country seems to have aspirations to host a major sporting event. Earlier this month, Norway withdrew its bid for Oslo to host the 2022 edition of the Winter Olympics, following Stockholm, Krakow and Lviv in Ukraine in dropping out of the process to host the tournament. Munich, which was also considering a bid, decided not to pursue it, following a referendum. "The vote is not a signal against the sport, but against the non-transparency and the greed for profit of the IOC (International Olympic Committee)," Despite several attempts, the IOC did not respond to requests for comments from CNN. The Polish bid and a joint Davos/St. Moritz attempt also fell apart when ordinary voters were given a say. The Oslo decision was taken for both financial and political reasons, the Norwegian Olympic Committee Secretary General, Inge Andersen told CNN. Costly endeavor It cost an A so-called list of IOC "demands" for delegations which included first class treatment such as exclusive VIP floor in an Oslo hotel, priority traffic lanes and Samsung phones for IOC delegates, as well as a red-carpet arrival ceremony for Committee chief Thomas Bach was outlined in a technical manual reportedly distributed to bid cities. Oslo's copy was released and reported in Norwegian media. In response to the reports, the IOC issued a statement saying, "The IOC pays for, and always has paid for, its own accommodation. The so-called 'Olympic lanes' are not demanded of every city but only where appropriate,Olympic Lanes, where appropriate, are there to ensure the Olympic Games can take place in a busy or congested city and competition can run on time so that the event can be brought to a worldwide audience." The statement goes on to say, "The so-called 'demands' in the technical manuals are no such thing. The language is very clear that these are merely suggestions and advice based on the experience gained from previous organisers of the Games." However, many ordinary Norwegians did not feel that way. "The public opinion was that the IOC 'suggestions' were more requirements," said Andersen, "and reflected a perceived opinion of the IOC as a somewhat distanced, undemocratic organization with unreasonable, non-understandable recommendations." The IOC said in a separate statement that it was a missed opportunity and Norway would have benefited from $880 million investment from the organization. Oslo's backing out leaves just two cities in the running; Almaty in Kazakhstan and the Chinese capital Beijing, which hosted the Summer Games in 2008. Andersen added that the lack of interest in hosting the 2022 Games might prompt the Committee to enact some changes to the bidding process. "We believe this also gives a signal to the IOC regarding necessar

• published: 19 Oct 2014
• views: 2