Montreal Awarded 2005 FINA Championship
- 主题发起人 oread
- 开始时间
Hi, your title should be "Montreal Re-Awarded 2005 FINA Championship ". Last month, Yvon DesRochers, CEO of the Montreal organizing committee committed suicide (he was found dead in his car) after FINA announced that Montreal would no longer be hosting the event, and opened bids to other cities.
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Montreal wins back world aquatic event
FRANKFURT, GERMANY - In a stunning reversal of fortune, Montreal has won back the right to host the 2005 world aquatic championship.
Swimming's international governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), made the decision early Thursday morning in Frankfurt, Germany, after considering bids from Athens, Berlin and Moscow, as well as a last-ditch plea from Montreal.
That city was originally slated to hold the global competition but FINA stripped the city of its hosting duties last month after organizers failed to raise $12 million in local sponsorships.
According to a statement on FINA's website, the decision to give the event back to Montreal was unanimous, and was based on several factors.
Financial guarantees made by the City of Montreal, the fact that many federations had already made travel arrangements, and "numerous appeals received form citizens and organisations of Montreal supporting the organisation of the championships" were all cited as reasons for FINA's change of heart.
Sink or swim
The fallout after the loss was considerable: Montreal media were ablaze with criticisms of the event's organizers, and CBC lost host broadcaster rights to the event in a year which has seen the corporation lose hockey and the broadcast rights to the 2010 and 2012 Olympics.
On top of that, Yvon DesRochers, the chief executive officer of the organizing committee for the event, was found dead in his car. Police said he had committed suicide.
FINA reopened the bid process, with Athens, Berlin and Moscow each submitting applications for the July 17-31 event.
Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay spearheaded the effort to keep the event in Quebec, even though Montreal was removed from FINA's candidate shortlist.
Tremblay travelled to Paris less than two weeks ago to present a new financial proposal to FINA. He put forward guarantees to cover any budgetary shortfalls.
RELATED STORY - Mayor returns from FINA meeting feeling positive
The Montreal mayor was also in Frankfurt this week to make the final pitch to FINA decision makers.
RELATED STORY - Mayor in Germany to win FINA's heart
On Thursday, Tremblay was thrilled that Montreal would be keeping the event.
"I'm very happy that FINA's steering committee has given us a second chance," he told all-news station RDI in Frankfurt.
"These Games are very important for Montreal and we'll do everything we can to make sure they're a very big success.
"Montrealers are proud and I am sure I can count on their support as well as the Quebec government's and the federal government's."
The world aquatic championships will be the largest sporting event in Montreal since the 1976 Olympics.
The championships rank third in global prestige behind soccer's World Cup and the track and field world championships. About 2,000 athletes from as many as 160 countries compete in swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming and endurance swimming.
Reaction
The president of the Aquatic Federation of Canada says she's thrilled with the decision.
Linda Cuthbert, who is also a member of the organizing committee for Montreal, says she never lost hope that her city would be given back the games.
"Sometimes it takes a crisis for people to realize that, 'Gee what we had there was a good thing. Let's get on board.' And sometimes people need a shake-up to realize that," Cuthbert said early Thursday morning.
Montreal was originally slated to hold the global competition but FINA stripped the city of its hosting duties last month after organizers failed to raise $12 million in local sponsorships.
FINA reopened the bid process, with Athens, Berlin and Moscow each submitting applications for the July 17-31 event.
Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay continues to make a last-ditch effort to keep the event in Quebec, even though Montreal was removed from FINA's candidate shortlist.
Tremblay traveled to Paris less than two weeks ago to present a new financial proposal to FINA. He put forward guarantees to cover any budgetary shortfalls.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Montreal wins back world aquatic event
FRANKFURT, GERMANY - In a stunning reversal of fortune, Montreal has won back the right to host the 2005 world aquatic championship.
Swimming's international governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA), made the decision early Thursday morning in Frankfurt, Germany, after considering bids from Athens, Berlin and Moscow, as well as a last-ditch plea from Montreal.
That city was originally slated to hold the global competition but FINA stripped the city of its hosting duties last month after organizers failed to raise $12 million in local sponsorships.
According to a statement on FINA's website, the decision to give the event back to Montreal was unanimous, and was based on several factors.
Financial guarantees made by the City of Montreal, the fact that many federations had already made travel arrangements, and "numerous appeals received form citizens and organisations of Montreal supporting the organisation of the championships" were all cited as reasons for FINA's change of heart.
Sink or swim
The fallout after the loss was considerable: Montreal media were ablaze with criticisms of the event's organizers, and CBC lost host broadcaster rights to the event in a year which has seen the corporation lose hockey and the broadcast rights to the 2010 and 2012 Olympics.
On top of that, Yvon DesRochers, the chief executive officer of the organizing committee for the event, was found dead in his car. Police said he had committed suicide.
FINA reopened the bid process, with Athens, Berlin and Moscow each submitting applications for the July 17-31 event.
Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay spearheaded the effort to keep the event in Quebec, even though Montreal was removed from FINA's candidate shortlist.
Tremblay travelled to Paris less than two weeks ago to present a new financial proposal to FINA. He put forward guarantees to cover any budgetary shortfalls.
RELATED STORY - Mayor returns from FINA meeting feeling positive
The Montreal mayor was also in Frankfurt this week to make the final pitch to FINA decision makers.
RELATED STORY - Mayor in Germany to win FINA's heart
On Thursday, Tremblay was thrilled that Montreal would be keeping the event.
"I'm very happy that FINA's steering committee has given us a second chance," he told all-news station RDI in Frankfurt.
"These Games are very important for Montreal and we'll do everything we can to make sure they're a very big success.
"Montrealers are proud and I am sure I can count on their support as well as the Quebec government's and the federal government's."
The world aquatic championships will be the largest sporting event in Montreal since the 1976 Olympics.
The championships rank third in global prestige behind soccer's World Cup and the track and field world championships. About 2,000 athletes from as many as 160 countries compete in swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming and endurance swimming.
Reaction
The president of the Aquatic Federation of Canada says she's thrilled with the decision.
Linda Cuthbert, who is also a member of the organizing committee for Montreal, says she never lost hope that her city would be given back the games.
"Sometimes it takes a crisis for people to realize that, 'Gee what we had there was a good thing. Let's get on board.' And sometimes people need a shake-up to realize that," Cuthbert said early Thursday morning.
Montreal was originally slated to hold the global competition but FINA stripped the city of its hosting duties last month after organizers failed to raise $12 million in local sponsorships.
FINA reopened the bid process, with Athens, Berlin and Moscow each submitting applications for the July 17-31 event.
Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay continues to make a last-ditch effort to keep the event in Quebec, even though Montreal was removed from FINA's candidate shortlist.
Tremblay traveled to Paris less than two weeks ago to present a new financial proposal to FINA. He put forward guarantees to cover any budgetary shortfalls.
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