» chicago 2016 olympics w/ chicago bull's luol deng

As you saw w/ urlacher yesterday, of all the celebrity interviews hyping chicago and our olympic bid being posted here once a day until the official 2016 olympic host announcement in Copenhagen on Oct 2nd, this week I am posting interviews with all my favorite athletes! Today I thought I would put my man luol deng up from the chicago bulls to share an overseas “visitor” perspective as the international olympic committee needs to find a host city that is full of diversity always embracing visitors from cultures all over the world… and no one is better than us in that category for sure!

I also thought i’d address some questions I got last night from some friends on twitter about what the benefits would be to our city & country if we got awarded the olympics… know I thought about going on and on about it myself from the beginning, but I imagined I would only loose people in the pure mass of positive personal opinion… so thought, why don’t I have people (these celebs in videos) with millions of fans who want to hear them talk, tell the benefits in a fun way (that and I can add my opinions in here and there on film and in blog text)! I personally think it is best to go to the facts and get almost anything you want answered in my opinion from www.chicago2016.org …so I always tell people to start there… but, if really want a quick punch list… here is one a friend sent out last week I liked….

“Colleagues and Friends,

I have outlined below just a few of the many ways the greater Chicagoland area would benefit from the 2016 Games:

• A greater international awareness of a world class city, Chicago. We all know and love Chicago. So many people around the world do not. This awareness will drive value to the City of Chicago and greater Chicagoland region in so many ways.

• A $22.5 billion economic stimulus for the city and state that will create the equivalent of 315,000 jobs for one year; $13.7 billion of this activity will be focused in Chicago

• An additional $1 billion from a variety of sources, including sales and amusement taxes, that will help support education, law enforcement and other city services

• A substantial increase in federal funds for roads and mass transit, based on the experiences of Atlanta and Salt Lake City

• By showcasing our lakefront, hotels and cultural institutions to 4 billion worldwide viewers, the Games will bring an additional 3 million international tourists to Chicago each year, and all of the needed economic stimulus and additional cultural depth that comes with that increase.

• Chicago 2016’s sister organization, World Sport Chicago, has already reached 30,000 youth all over the city through its sport programs, and these efforts will be expanded dramatically if Chicago becomes the 2016 Host City. Other cities in the U.S. are already modeling this program.

The question on deck, and correctly so is, ”What is the risk to the city?”

There is some degree of risk in every single endeavor worth pursuing. As a committee member with full access to the plan, I can tell you with great confidence that the risk is very controlled, extremely limited and very well placed. The city is well insulated from the risk of any financial shortfall.

In summary, we will come out on top by every measure if we are so fortunate to win this historic bid.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are much more than a world class sporting event that serves as an economic engine for the host city.

The Games are a platform for six core values of the Olympic Movement:

• Hope

• Respect

• Harmony

• Friendship

• Excellence

• Celebration

These are values we should all make more room for in our lives.”

So many more questions are answered on…. www.chicago2016.org

I also thought i’d address some questions I got last night from some friends on twitter about what the benefits would be to our city & country if we got awarded the olympics… know I thought about going on and on about it myself from the beginning, but I imagined I would only lose people in the pure mass of positive personal opinion… so thought, why don’t I have people (these celebs in videos) with millions of fans who want to hear them talk, tell the benefits in a fun way (that and I can add my opinions in here and there on film and in blog text)! I personally think it is best to go to the facts and get almost anything you want answered in my opinion from www.chicago2016.org …so I always tell people to start there… but, if really want a quick punch list… here is one a friend sent out last week I liked….