Six steps to Rio’s success

Host City identifies the essential factors that will capture the hearts and minds of decision makers

Two weeks after voting on the panel that swept Rio to victory, IOC executive board member Craig Reedie told the Global Sports Industry Congress: “Copenhagen was the closest and most competitive bidding race that any of us can remember. This time, it was possible that all four could have won.”

Your city’s name won’t stand out without unique,
clearly communicated selling points (Picture: IOC)

Each of the candidates had technically sound plans, all of which were conveyed with powerful emotion. But ultimately there would only be one winner. So exactly what did Rio do to set its offering apart from the rest?

Step 1: Create Change
Rio’s story was all about the need for change, both for the Olympics and for Brazil. The centrepiece of the presentation was what Reedie describes as “the wonderfully twisted Mercator projection of the world. Up at the top was the rest of the world, with stars where all the Olympic Games had been held. And right in the middle was this enormous land mass called South America with no stars on it at all.”

Here’s how President Lula sold this shift to the IOC. “I say, with frankness, our time has come. Among the 10 biggest economies of the world, Brazil is the only country that has not hosted the Olympic and Paralympic games. For the others, it would be just another Olympic games; for us it will be an opportunity without equal. Now is the time to correct this inequality. For the Olympic movement, this decision will open a new and promising frontier.”

Speaking for both the IOC and for his city, bid president Carlos Nuzman put dynamism at the heart of the Olympic movement. “The Olympic flame has always burned the brightest when it has marked a new chapter in history. Rio offers opportunity for the future. When you push the button today, you have the chance to inspire new continents; make Olympic history. Vote for Rio and you open a gateway for 180 million passionate young people in South America. Rio is ready to deliver history.”

This was clearly the core message that resonated within the IOC. When President Jacques Rogge announced the winner, and again when addressing the signing ceremony, he mentioned just one factor that set Rio apart from the other excellent bids: the “added value” of taking the Games to a new continent.

Step 2: Show Desire
Public support can be the decisive factor in a hosting decision. The people of Brazil wanted the Games badly – but then so did the people of Spain. What was striking about Rio’s bid was the way that this desire was communicated as a unified message from ordinary citizens and from the very top level.

“We are carrying the hopes and dreams of more than 190 million Brazilians, who are watching your decision today on big screens on our beaches and on small television sets along the banks of the Amazon River," President Lula told the IOC. Praising his team mates, Carlos Nuzman said at the signing ceremony: “President Lula, Cabral and Silva – they understood what this work means. Only with political wish can you win.” This was not just about wanting three weeks of sport; it was about making it clear that there is tangible demand for city development. Bid secretary general Carlos Osorio said: “The Olympic village will help meet the high demand for quality accommodation. We will sell these apartments, just as we did successfully with similar accommodation used for the Pan American Games, when every apartment was sold in a single day.”

Similarly, President Lula outlined how, “in line with the long-term needs of people,” the bid was “driving the largest public safety programme in Brazil’s history”.

Brazil was not afraid to show how much it needed this break. “We just need a chance to show that we are a great nation, like China, like Germany,” Lula told the media in Copenhagen.

Step 3: Stay Humble
On announcing the winner, Rogge said: “Four years ago for the 2012 games, Rio did not make the cut, but Rio remained humble. Rio wanted to listen, to correct their shortcomings. They learned a lot and today they won. I think this is a very nice story.”

This attitude is confirmed by Nuzman, who told media: “When Rio was not included in the final list in Lausanne for the 2012 Games, I had a meeting with Mr Gilbert Felli and then I went to the office of the President. My words were: Thank you President. Thank you IOC. We were not prepared. We learned but we will be back.”

The final presentation was delivered with great confidence and conviction, but inwardly the Rio bid team was worried. President Lula puts this down to Brazil’s position on the global stage. “We were colonised. We had manias that we had to think small, that we didn’t matter. We thought ‘we’ve lost! Obama has arrived!’”

In putting themselves second, Rio put the Olympic Games first.

Step 4: Be Honest
Earlier in 2009, Host City identified security and transport as the bid’s weaker points. We contacted Vero, the bid team’s communications agency, who immediately said, “We don’t have any problem talking about these issues.” Later that day, the bid secretary general Carlos Osorio contacted us about these issues and the work that was underway to deal with them.

Rio’s bid handled the IOC with a similar level of openness. At the signing ceremony in Copenhagen, Osorio said: “Rio doesn’t have any problem in showing its reality in a very clear manner to the IOC members.” Vero’s CEO Mike Lee offered some words of advice at the Global Sports Industry Congress. “If anybody’s thinking about getting involved in this bid process, don’t think you can hide your weaknesses. The nature of the evaluation commission’s work and what they are able to investigate, plus the scrutiny of the international media – you know what, if you’re not ready, don’t bid.”

Factor 5: Secure Funds
Hosting the Olympics is a colossal investment and even just bidding is a major financial risk. Mike Lee offers more advice for would-be candidates: “Make sure the bid is well funded. If you are going to enter these major bidding processes now, they are not cheap.”

Lee also worked on London’s successful Olympic bid, which demonstrated partnership to the IOC by committing to provide a third of the budget from central government, a third from city government and a third from the private sector. “There is no one single model, but make sure the money is there,” he says.

Henrique Meirelles, the president of the central bank of Brazil, was in Copenhagen to provide exactly this reassurance. “Despite the crisis that is affecting some countries, I am delighted to confirm that the Brazilian economy is even stronger and ready for the Games.”

To an audience of IOC members from countries all over the world in recession, Meirelles was able to reel off some mouth-watering facts about Brazil: the economy is growing at a rate of 8 per cent per annum; it is the fifth largest advertising market and growing fast; and, wildly bucking the global trend, unemployment is falling.

Brazil committed to spending more than any of the other candidate cities. President Lula said: “We have to invest US$359bn in infrastructure before the next administration. You have a commitment to 2014 and 2016.”

The majority of IOC members were convinced that such huge spending would not be a problem. Reedie said: “Mr Meirelles’ calculations showed that Rio could run both these events at a total cost of less than half of one per cent of GDP. I am old enough to remember the days when you went to the bank manager who would say, I’m worried about two accounts – yours and Brazil’s. That is not the case any more.”

Factor 6: Work Like Crazy
Bidding is hard work. All four candidates had clearly worked incredibly hard on their bids. But at the signing ceremony at least, the Rio team gave the impression that they had put in as much effort as was humanly possible and were ready for the real work to begin.

“Not one of us had had one day of holiday since the Pan American Games (July 2007),” said Carlos Nuzman. “Some of the people tomorrow can rest. I have a presentation I need to do at 10 AM; Carlos Osorio and myself and several other members of this organising committee have a meeting with Gilbert Felli to start the work.”

President Lula suggested that Rio’s bid team grafted harder than their competitors, giving them the edge. “The US has won many times. Perhaps they didn’t focus as hard as we did. It was not luck that won; Rio did. Our slogan is work, work, work. Sleep less, think harder. I will give my body and soul to do it. We will not waste this opportunity.”