Because we don’t read the sports section, or even know where to find it, we almost this mild-sized story about New York City’s Olympic bid. As Mayor Bloomberg tries to convince the city actually has the resources needed to host the 2012 cash cow, he enlisted the help of a few celebrities (Meryl Streep, Whoopi Goldberg, Henry Kissinger and The Gates’ Christo and Jeanne-Claude) and fireworks over Central Park to impress the 13 IOC members visiting to evaluate.
While showing off the city’s sporting venues is one goal, the pomp also struggled to upstage the welcomes already given by England and Spain. IOC members across the pond were treated to “dinner with Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace during their trip to London or the soiree hosted by King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia in Madrid.”
So how did New York compete? Says deputy mayor and head of the bid committee Daniel L. Doctoroff (without any irony, we imagine): “As far as comparing to the Queen of England, we did go to Queens yesterday, so that was a very positive step.” Such a joker!