Posted: January 15, 2004

Olympic Games 2012 : All Nine Applicant Cities return their responses to IOC questionnaire

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today announced that all nine cities applying to become candidates to host the Games of the XXX Olympiad in 2012 have returned their responses to the IOC Candidature Acceptance Procedure questionnaire. Paris (FRA), Leipzig (GER), New York (USA), Moscow (RUS), Istanbul (TUR), Havana (CUB), London (GBR), Madrid (ESP) and Rio de Janeiro (BRA)* had until midnight on 15 January to submit their files to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The completed questionnaire, which marks the first phase in the procedure leading to the election of the host city of the Olympic Games in 2012, should provide the IOC with an overview of each Applicant City's project, through the responses to the 25 questions asked and two guarantees requested. For full details, please visit our website at the following address: http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_711.pdf [PDF file]

The responses will now be studied by an IOC-appointed working group and by the IOC Executive Board, the latter meeting on 18 May to decide which cities will be accepted as Candidates Cities.

"We are delighted to see that all nine Applicant Cities have returned their dossiers on time, clearly confirming their interest and determination to pursue the process to host the Olympic Games in 2012", said the IOC President, Jacques Rogge. "There is still a long way to go until the election of the host city in July 2005. We wish good luck to all nine cities and look forward to a fair competition", he added.

Cities are listed in the order of drawing of lots.

The IOC will not release any document at this stage of the procedure, but has informed Applicant Cities that they can make their responses public and post them on their websites if they so wish, as of 16 January.

The main deadlines for Candidate Cities will be as follows:

15 November 2004 : Return of the Candidature Files
February-March 2005 : Visits by the Evaluation Commission to each Candidate City
No later than one month before the election : Report by the Evaluation Commission published and given to the IOC members
July 2005 : Election of the Host City during the 117th IOC Session in Singapore