USOC in New York State of Mind

NEW YORK CITY-The US Olympic Committee sang “New York, New York” Saturday night, dashing San Francisco’s 2012 Olympics hopes and moving the Big Apple one step closer to hosting what local organizers fervently believe to be the proverbial Golden Goose. The final word will be handed down in July 2005 by the International Olympic Committee.

In August, the USOC plucked New York and San Francisco as the two US finalists from a field of four cities competing for the 2012 Summer Games. Houston and Washington, DC were eliminated in that round. But the exuberant vision of Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, who long spearheaded the efforts of NYC 2012, organizer of the city’s $5-billion Olympics bid, apparently bowled over the USOC in a one-hour, no-holds-barred presentation Saturday afternoon.

While focusing on the plan’s “Olympic X” transportation system as well as the city’s multicultural heritage, the highlight of the presentation was a video featuring entertainment-industry powerhouses such as Robert De Niro, Bette Midler, Jerry Seinfeld and Woody Allen and including a recently filmed mock ticker-tape parade and shots of the Statue of Liberty lit by a spectacular fireworks display. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani showed up to stress the city’s resilience in the face of Sept. 11, though organizers carefully avoided playing the sympathy card throughout the bidding process.