July 27, 2009

Across the nation in June, sports'related events were filled with people on a mission. Volleyball, basketball and badminton games, swimming, rowing, running, and all kinds of children's and community events took place with one common theme: Chicago 2016.

Although an ocean away from their brothers and sisters in the other 49 states, Honolulu proudly shared in this mission. The weeklong Honolulu Olympic Day Celebration was created by Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann to show support for the U.S. bid for the 2016 Olympics in Chicago, and was designed with the Olympics' three core values — Excellence, Friendship, and Respect — as its guide.

The Honolulu Olympic Celebration Steering Committee worked with supervision from the United States Olympic Committee. About 150 U.S. cities participated with their own “Olympic Day” events on or about June 23 — the 115th anniversary of the first International Olympic Committee meeting, convened by Pierre de Coubertin in Paris in 1894.

Hannemann decided to expand the event in Honolulu to a weeklong celebration, and residents responded enthusiastically. Hannemann knows the games will benefit the entire country, and that Honolulu will be the “Gateway to the East” for many travelers going to the Olympics.

“The Olympics will be great for Chicago and for our nation,” Hannemann said. “Honolulu and other cities stand to benefit tremendously from new opportunities the games will create for the travel, sports, and other industries.”

Hannemann, co-chair of a special task force with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley to support Chicago's Olympic bid, recently joined Daley and other officials to present the U.S. proposal to host the 2016 Games to the International Olympic Committee's Evaluation Commission. Hannemann envisions Olympians stopping in Honolulu before the Games for training, and after the Games for respite. Other Olympic travelers will also take the opportunity to travel to Hawaii. The IOC will be making its final decision in October.

“I am extremely proud that Honolulu supported our Olympic Celebration in June with such enthusiasm,” said Hannemann. “We have a proud history of Olympians from Hawaii — most recently, Gold Medalists Bryan Clay (Decathlon) and Natasha Kai (Soccer) — and I know we have many more future Olympians among us. If Chicago is successful with its bid in October, I look forward to working with my fellow mayors through our special public-private task force to develop a Discover America tourism strategy that will ultimately benefit as many cities across our nation,” concluded Hannemann.