Around the Rings: 2014 race is too close to call

Ten days before the IOC vote in Guatemala City, the race for the 2014 Winter Games is too close to call, according to the Around the Rings Olympic Bid Power Index.
TEN DAYS before the IOC vote in Guatemala City, the race for the 2014 Winter Games is too close to call, according to the Around the Rings Olympic Bid Power Index.
    All three cities – Pyeongchang, Korea; Salzburg, Austria; and Sochi, Russia — scored 83 points each out of 110 possible.
    Click HERE for a glance at the IOC voting procedure.
    The ATR Power Index, which was released Monday, is the final ranking before the July 4 vote. It’s the first time cities bidding for either the Winter or Summer Olympic Games have tied, and may indicate a difficult choice for the IOC, according to ATR Editor Ed Hula.
    “The three cities in the Power Index clearly have strengths and weaknesses across different criteria,” Hula said. “While I knew the cities would be close in this final ranking, I was surprised to see all three with the same totals.”
    Previous rankings gave Salzburg a slight lead. April’s Power Index gave Salzburg a score of 82; Pyeongchang and Sochi scored 77 and 75, respectively.
    Hula says weaknesses in Salzburg’s bid have allowed PyeongChang and Sochi to close the gap. For the full report, www.aroundtherings.com.
    The Around the Rings Olympic Bid Power Index is the only authoritative ranking of its kind. The index is based on 11 criteria that include subjective points such as ambiance, and objective details such as accommodations and transport.
    The index is based on multiple visits by ATR correspondents to the cities over the past two years and coverage of presentations by the cities around the globe. Scrutiny of bid documents and interviews with bid officials, IOC members and other sports leaders also influence the rankings.
    The index is not meant to predict but to compare some of the major points that go into a successful Olympic Games. Judgments are based on nearly 20 years of covering Winter and Summer Olympics and the bids that led to them.