A tour boat passes under an Olympic banner spanning the Michigan Ave. bridge in downtown Chicago. Chicago's proposed plan for the 2016 games puts the majority of the competition in venues in the city's parks and along its lakefront.
In this artist's rendering, the proposed Olympic Island along the Lake Michigan waterfront is shown. The International Olympic Committee will choose the 2016 host city on Oct. 2, 2009. Chicago is competing against Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.
The Chicago 2016 Olympic logo is seen at center field as members of the International Olympic Committee tour Chicago's Soldier Field. Completely renovated in 2004, Soldier Field would host soccer during the 2016 Olympics.
McCormick Place is seen against the Chicago skyline. For the 2016 Games, it will be transformed into the Lake Michigan Sports Complex, featuring 11 Olympic and 8 Paralympic sport competitions, as well as the International Broadcast Center and Media Press Center.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, who hail from Chicago, join Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daly at a White House event supporting the city's Olympic bid. President Barack Obama will head to Copenhagen, Denmark, this week to lobby the International Olympic Committee for Chicago to host the 2016 Olympics. First lady Michelle Obama will also be in Copenhagen for the IOC vote on Oct. 2.
President Barack Obama wields a plastic saber as first lady Michelle Obama, rear left, and Track and Field Paralympian April Holmes, second left, watch a fencing demonstration at the White House in Washington during an event supporting Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid.
President Barack Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, center, and Chicago Mayor M. Richard Daley, right, watch as Olympian Ryan Reser, in white, is thrown by Paralympian Myles Porter, during a demonstration of judo at an event supporting Chicago's 2016 Olympic bid, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama host an event on the Olympics, Paralympics and youth sport, Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington.
A Chicago 2016 emblem appears in lights in a high-rise building, left, as newly-refurbished Buckingham Fountain welcomes the International Olympic Committee Evaluation Commission to Chicago.
Boats are tied up in Monroe Harbor along Chicago's Lake Michigan shoreline. During the 2016 Olympic Games, Monroe Harbor will be the site for marathon swimming, canoeing, kayaking and rowing competition.
Workers put the finishing touches on a Olympic laurel and medal on the Picasso Statue in Daley Plaza in Chicago on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009.
Visitors are reflected in Anish Kapoor's sculpture called "Cloud Gate" by the city, and "the bean" by everyone else, in Chicago's Millennium Park on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009. President Barack Obama will head to Copenhagen, Denmark, this week to lobby the International Olympic Committee for Chicago to host the 2016 Olympics. First lady Michelle Obama, who grew up in Chicago, will also be in Copenhagen for the IOC vote.
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley laughs while surrounded by 2016 committee members and supporters at press conference Friday, Sept. 25, 2009, in Chicago. Already on track to be the city's longest-serving mayor, it would cement Daley's legacy as one of the nation's most powerful mayors if Chicago beats out Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics.
A commuter walks by a large television screen in downtown Chicago on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009. President Barack Obama will head to Copenhagen, Denmark, this week to lobby the International Olympic Committee for Chicago to host the 2016 Olympics. First lady Michelle Obama, who grew up in Chicago, will also be in Copenhagen for the IOC vote.
First lady Michelle Obama arrives at Kastrup Airport in Copenhagen, Denmark, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. Michelle Obama has joined the Chicago 2016 bid team, who are competing with Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro, for the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The IOC will choose the winning city in a vote on Friday Oct. 2 in Copenhagen.
Oprah Winfrey walks along a street in downtown Copenhagen, Denmark, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009. Winfrey has joined the Chicago 2016 bid team, who are competing with Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro, for the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
Former U.S. Olympic athlete Michael Johnson, front center, former U.S. national women's soccer team player Brandi Chastain, front left, current Olympic gold winning gymnast Nastia Liukin, front right, and other members of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid team celebrate just before finishing a fun run outside a hotel on the harbour in Copenhagen, Denmark, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009.
Former NFL-player Morten Andersen of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid, second left, visits the Avedoere Monarchs during training in Copenhagen, Denmark, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009.
Brandi Chastain, former soccer player with the U.S. national women's team, arrives as part of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid team at Kastrup airport in Copenhagen, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2009.
Former U.S. Olympic athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee waves to the crowd of children, in her capacity as a member of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid team, flanked by Danish television personality Bubber, right, before taking part in a 400-meter race against local children at a local schools' Olympics at a stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009.