Michelle Obama to Champion Chicago for 2016 Olympics

First Lady Michelle Obama will head to Copenhagen on Oct. 2 to support hometown Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Chicago is on the short list with Madrid, Rio de Janiero and Tokyo that officials will vote on at the 121st International Olympic Committee Session. President Barack Obama will be staying in Washington to help pass health care legislation (and some are saying that’s a bad move for Chicago.) Michelle Obama was born and raised in Chicago’s South Side.

Already Chicago is using a tentative $4.8 billion Olympics plan (note that London, who has the 2012 games, doubled its proposed spending to $16 billion) and with more than 4 billion viewers, it hopes to boost the city’s tourism in the process. A planned extension of the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway is also expected to cut travel time in half to O’Hare International Airport.

As stated before, many are hoping that the president will make an appearance in Copenhagen, giving his needed celebrity cachet to the proceedings (Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito and Princess Masaki are expected to be there as well as Spain’s king and queen) hinting that without his presence Chicago’s hopes may be dashed.

Is this a trip for a first lady or for the president? Personally, I think Michelle Obama is an excellent choice, but I can see why so many Chicagoans, who claim the couple as their own, are hoping both will be there to clinch the win. However, have you been to Chicago in summer? Those athletes will have to deal with some intense Midwestern humidity. Good luck to you all!