New Delhi: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday delivered a strong, personal and highly visible endorsement to the 2016 Olympic bid of his hometown of Chicago.
"We want these games and if you choose Chicago I promise you this: Chicago will make America proud and America will make the world proud. So, as I said when we were first announcing this bid in Chicago... let the Games begin... right here in the United States of America!" said Obama.
Obama, who will be busy with healthcare reform, will send his wife Michelle to lobby for Chicago ahead of the vote.
The International Olympic Committee will decide the host city for the 2016 Summer Games on October 2 in Copenhagen.
Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro are the finalists.
Rio de Janeiro, bidding to become the first South American city to host an Olympics, and Chicago are being seen as front-runners.
King Juan Carlos of Spain will argue on behalf of Madrid in Copenhagen while Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will represent Rio de Janeiro's case.
Japan's new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and its royal family will be rooting for Tokyo.
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