No Games Chicago takes message to IOC in Switzerland

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LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- No Games Chicago, a group opposed to the city’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, has sent a three-person delegation here to deliver that message after Chicago presents its plan to International Olympic Committee members Wednesday.

No Games delegate Tom Tresser said today that he hoped to have a press conference at the Olympic Museum, where the four finalists are to give their presentations, but he was not sure whether his group would be allowed on the museum grounds.

No Games Chicago held some demonstrations, which were sparsely attended, when the IOC evaluation commission toured Chicago in early April. Two evaluation commission members met with No Games representatives at the end of the IOC’s Chicago visit.

Tresser said the message here will essentially be the same one delivered in Chicago, although he said this will be tailored more to IOC members.

‘They want to know if the OIympics will be welcome in Chicago, whether they will be successful and whether they will bring credit to the IOC,’’ Tresser said. ‘We will say the answer is ‘No.’ ‘’

[Updated 9:25 a.m.: No Games says on its website that the trip has cost about $10,000. They must be living the high life, since flights here go for about $1,000 round trip, and even a week of hotels and meals for three people should not cost more than $5,000.

Since they need to be here only through Thursday and said they arrived Monday, the cost should be much lower.]

-- Philip Hersh