Beijing, Istanbul, Osaka, Paris and Toronto have all bid to host the 2008 Games. The IOC will choose the venue in a vote of all its members in Moscow on July 13.

A Reuters survey of 32 sports editors from 28 countries showed Beijing was the favourite to win the 2008 race.

Twenty-three of the editors said Beijing was the likeliest city to be chosen by the IOC, four said Paris, four opted for Toronto and one voted for Osaka. Istanbul received no votes.

"It's about time the country with the biggest population hosted the Olympics," said Roger Crutchley of the Bangkok Post.

In a key IOC report published last week, Beijing was ranked level with Paris and Toronto as being capable of staging an "excellent Games" in 2008. The IOC's Evaluation Commission chiefs have visited all five bidding cities in the last few months to assess technical aspects of each bid such as plans for sports facilities, transport, accommodation and environmental factors.

Their report effectively turned the race into a three-city affair by expressing concerns about the bids from Istanbul and Osaka. "It is the commission's belief that a Beijing Games would leave a unique legacy to China and to sport," the report said.

Sports editors said the fact that China had yet to build many of the facilities for the Games would not go against its bid.

"China has been overlooked so far, and they're getting the infrastructure in place for stadiums," said Richard Cook, managing editor of sports.com in London.

"The IOC will be very keen to totally embrace China in its Olympic tentacles," said Joseph Romanos at the New Zealand Listener. "There is a lot of money to be made in China by the western world."

The Summer Olympics were last held in Asia in 1988, when Seoul staged the event. Canada previously held the Summer Games in Montreal in 1976, and Paris last played host in 1924.

(China Daily 05/27/2001)