Games body's congress 'would be biggest sports-related event to be held in HK'
Hong Kong would be the centre of the sporting world for nine days if the city's bid to host the IOC Congress in 2011 was successful, Olympic supremo Timothy Fok Tsun-ting said.
The Hong Kong Olympic Committee yesterday submitted a government-backed bid to the International Olympic Committee for Hong Kong to host the IOC Congress in 2011.
After the Olympic Games, the biennial meeting of the world's leading sports officials is the highest-profile IOC event in the world.
'It would be the biggest sports-related event Hong Kong has ever hosted,' Fok, president of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong said yesterday. 'Today is the deadline for submitting bids and we have just sent ours to the IOC. I hope we are successful.'
On Monday, the Legislative Council gave its support 'in principle' to the Hong Kong Olympic Committee for the bid, which has a budget ceiling of HK$200 million. The host city will be decided by the IOC executive committee during next year's Olympic Games in Beijing.
Pang Chung, secretary-general of the Hong Kong Olympic Committee, said: 'Hong Kong will never have a chance to stage an Olympic Games. Hosting the IOC Congress is the next best, and we want to do it.'
