Final Pitch For 2012 Olympics

Five Cities, Including NYC, Make Last Pleas Before IOC Vote

(AP)  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Muhammad Ali and the leaders of Britain, France and Spain joined the final, frenzied stage of lobbying as the IOC prepared to choose a host for the 2012 Olympics after a high-powered, fiercely competitive five-city campaign.

The former first lady became the top political heavyweight for New York's delegation, which insisted its bid was gaining momentum ahead of Wednesday's vote by the International Olympic Committee.

"It's confusing and hard to predict," New York bid leader Dan Doctoroff said. "This is a completely open race. We feel, based on the feedback we've received from members of the IOC, that we've got a chance."

Ali, an Olympic boxing champion in 1960, also joined the New York team — posing gamely for photographers even though physical ailments limit his speaking ability. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who guided Ali to the photo session, called him "the secret weapon" of the city's bid campaign.

Oddsmakers have long installed Paris — loser of bids for the 1992 and 2008 Games — as the favorite this time, followed ever more closely by London. Moscow and Madrid also are in the field, considered by many in the Olympic movement as the most prestigious ever.

Underscoring the lengths to which contenders were prepared to go, Russian officials said President Vladimir Putin — in his video address to the IOC on Wednesday — would speak publicly in English for the first time.

The IOC formally opened its session Tuesday evening with a ceremony at a downtown concert hall. In a speech to the members, IOC president Jacques Rogge suggested that the four cities that lose should consider bidding again in four years for the 2016 Games.

"They should know that the quality of their candidature file would give them an excellent chance," he said.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Singapore on Sunday, while French President Jacques Chirac flew in Tuesday. The two leaders have sparred recently over European farm subsidies, and Chirac roiled the relationship further over the weekend by joking about mad cow disease and bad food in Britain.

"I'm not going to disparage anybody," he said. "I don't disrespect any of the cities that are bidding — everyone is doing their level best."