President-elect Barack Obama appeared in a 90-second video message that was played today in Istanbul before the European Olympic Committee, the largest regional group in the Olympic movement, the Associated Press reports. Obama made a personal appeal to the body to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics to his hometown of Chicago, saying, “The United States would be honored to have the opportunity to host the Games and serve the Olympic movement.” The president-elect’s remarks were greeted with warm applause, the AP says. “I think it was very dramatic,” said Irish IOC member Patrick Hickey, who heads the European body. “I think everybody in the room was impressed with that. It added a great touch of spice to the Chicago presentation. The message was excellent. He was very gracious to the Olympic movement.”
—Christopher Perez