Five of the world’s superpower metropolises are vying to host the 2012 Olympic Summer Games.  Armed with big-
city budgets and big-city mettle, they have turned this into the most intense bidding war in modern Olympic history. 
New Yorkers wouldn’t have it any other way.

Bidding for the 2012 Olympics are five heavyweight rival cities: Paris, London, Madrid, Moscow and New York.  “There’s a lot of prestige at stake,” said Rob Livingstone, an expert in Olympic bidding and creator of the Web site Gamesbids.com.  “Other times, you get some bigger cities, some smaller ones – it’s not the same kind of battle.”  This battle for the 2012 Games has become the most intense competition in Olympic history, which should come as no surprise considering that New York –
a city known for its residents’ competitive spirits and New York-centrism – is one of the bidders.  And, unlike the games played at the Olympics, there are no silver or bronze medals in a bidding war. 

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