Fok has decision to make as contending cities lobby hard

Hong Kong sports chief finds himself in midst of celebrity-packed bidding war

Timothy Fok Tsun-ting arrived amid the heat and competition of the most competitive bid race in living memory yesterday, ready to do his duty and fulfil his assignment as an International Olympic Committee member by voting for the 2012 host. 'I have [campaigned] twice with the Beijing bid team for the Olympic Games, but being an IOC member here to elect the host city for the summer games is totally different,' he said. 'Even though we are approaching the final voting stage, a lot of lobbying is still on-going with members of all bid cities working hard for any single vote than can be favourable to their city,' Fok said yesterday.

Fok, who is also president of Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, was elected to the IOC in 2001, shortly after Beijing won the right to host the 2008 games.

He met early yesterday with US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who sought his support for the New York bid.

He was then approached by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez and one of the team's star players, Raul Gonzalez, who both lobbied on behalf of the Spanish capital.

'Mrs Clinton told me that Hong Kong and New York are both big metropolitan and world financial centres. Hong Kong should therefore support a city like New York as we are very similar in a number of ways,' said Fok.