October 1 - An exclusive poll to find out which city should host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games conducted by insidethegames.biz, which is read by the key decision makers and opinion-formers from around the world, has closed with Chicago narrowly ahead of Rio de Janeiro.


The poll received nearly 150,000 votes from all four corners of the globe, and illustrated just how close the voting is set to be when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meets in Copenhagen tomorrow to choose the host city for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics.

Chicago polled 65,749 votes to Rio’s 63,823 votes.

Olympic experts are calling this the closest contest in the history of the bidding process and the insidethegames.biz poll is another demonstration of this.

Duncan Mackay, the publisher and editor of insidethegames.biz, said: "This really is too close to call and it could go either way tomorrow. 

"Both Chicago and Rio would undoubtedly stage fantastic Games and it is a shame that there has to be a loser."

Chicago is bidding to become the first city in the United States to stage the Summer Olympics since Atlanta in 1996.

Rio, who are bidding for the fourth time, have mounted a strong challenge to become the first city in South America to stage the Olympics.

Between them, Chicago and Rio polled 89.1 per cent of the votes.

The two other Candidate Cities, Madrid and Tokyo, were both a long way behind.

Tokyo polled 15,496 votes and Madrid just 466.

Mackay said: "The lack of support for Madrid is very surprising because they have consistently scored highest in IOC-commissioned surveys.

"Tokyo’s is less surprising because their bid has been bedevilled by poor support in Japan.

"Both cities bids have suffered for geographical reasons. 

"Beijing hosted the Olympics only last year and there is no appetite within the Olympic Movement to return to Asia so soon. 

"Madrid, who were unlucky not to beat London to stage the 2012 Games four years ago, have a good bid but it seems unlikely that the IOC would want to host successive Summer Olympics in Europe.

"There is a definite feeling that the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics are heading west, which our poll proves. 

"But Olympic elections are notoriously volatile and hard to call so anything could still happen."


Final result
Chicago 65,749 votes (45.2 per cent)
Rio de Janeiro 63,823 (43.9)
Tokyo 15,496 (10.6)
Madrid 466 (0.3)