OLYMPICS IOC eyes reduction for 2012 hopefuls

New York is expected to survive the first cut.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- The list of cities competing for the 2012 Olympics is about to get shorter.
With nine bidders in the running, the IOC executive board was to trim the field to a group of finalists today.
No fixed number was set, but members said they expect as few as four and no more than six to make the cut.
Paris, London, New York, and Madrid, Spain, are virtually certain of advancing, while Havana faces likely elimination.
That leaves four cities on the bubble: Moscow; Istanbul, Turkey; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Leipzig, Germany. Leipzig and Istanbul appear to be the least likely to survive.
Goal
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said the goal is "separating the boys from the men."
"There is a whole set of criteria," he said, "but the bottom line is ultimately whether a city has the ability of staging the games."
The process appears to favor big, modern cities with established infrastructure, reliable transport services, good security and plenty of hotel beds.
"We are looking at a number of things," Rogge said. "Of course, the experience of a country or city in staging world events plays a big role."
The decision will kick off a 14-month race that will end with the selection of the host city by the full IOC assembly in Singapore in July 2005.
Geography favors a European city after the 2008 Summer Olympics in Asia (Beijing) and 2010 Winter Games in North America (Vancouver, British Columbia).
Front-runner
Paris, which last hosted the Olympics in 1924, is viewed as the front-runner. The French capital successfully hosted soccer's World Cup in 1998 and the world athletics championships in 2003, and is seen by IOC members as having paid its dues after failed bids for the 1992 and 2008 Olympics. London is considered a main challenger.
New York, which has never staged the Olympics, has to contend with anti-American sentiment fueled by the invasion of Iraq, as well as the geographical disadvantage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada. The IOC is often reluctant to award consecutive Olympics to the same continent.
New York bid leader Dan Doctoroff showed no signs of nerves as he awaited the verdict.
"I've heard everything from A to Z," he said. "I've heard everything from four to nine. Nobody seems to know what's going to happen. I'm not going to worry about it."