IOC would be ‘delighted’ with U.S. bid for 2020

DURBAN, South Africa, July 9 (Reuters) - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) would welcome a bid for the 2020 summer Olympics from the United States, IOC
 President Jacques Rogge said on Saturday.

The U.S. Olympic Committee had indicated up until some weeks ago it would not bid for the Games in nine years after Chicago suffered a humiliating defeat for the 2016 Olympics.
Strained USOC-IOC ties, a still unresolved revenue-sharing deal and differences over a possible Olympic TV network in the U.S. contributed to a first round defeat for Chicago despite the presence of U.S. president Barack Obama at the IOC vote in 2009.
But a thaw in relations since then and a pending deal over how sponsors and TV rights revenues are shared with the Americans as well as a new USOC leadership could result in a new drive for 2020 with New York seen as a possible candidate.
“The declaration from the USOC is that they are still waiting but if there is a good bid coming from the United States we will be delighted,” said Rogge at the end of the IOC session in Durban, South Africa.
Rogge, who will step down as IOC president in 2013, also said he would not be supporting any candidates for the top job.
“I think I will look at it from the front row. It is good for an organisation to renew its leadership. But I will not groom anyone or support anyone.”
A handful of senior IOC members, including Germany’s Thomas Bach and Puerto Rico’s Richard Carrion, are seen as possible candidates.
“There is no lack of very good potential successors. I think it is good to have competition,” Rogge said.
“In the IOC there are half a dozen members who have the profile and maybe the desire to run,” added Rogge, who has been in charge since 2001.
The IOC earlier elected Swede Gunilla Lindberg to replace Norwegian Gerhard Heiberg on its executive board.
It also introduced three new members with Spain’s Jose Perurena Lopez, Gerardo Werthein from Argentina and New Zealand’s Barbara Kendall bringing the total number of current members to 113.