Beijing braces for Olympic vote

Beijing has invested billions in its bid to host the Games

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- The race to see which city will host the 2008 summer Olympic games is nearing the finish line.

With just hours to go before members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) cast their votes, most attention is focusing on Beijing -- widely considered the front-runner.

On the eve of the selection process, four other cities, most prominently Paris and Toronto, continued to press their case, saying China should be passed over because of its poor record on human rights.

Osaka and Istanbul are the other two cities among the five finalists, but they are considered outsiders compared to the other three.

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The 122 voting members of the IOC are scheduled to meet at 1400GMT (2200HKT) Friday at the International Hotel in central Moscow to cast their ballots for the winning city.

The results are expected about an hour later.

Final leg

In the final run-up to the decision Beijing's bid was generating both excitement and opposition as the unofficial leading candidate.

In 1993 voting for the 2000 Games, the city lost out to Sydney by two votes -- with many voting delegates thought to have been swung by China's human rights record.

Nonetheless supporters of the Beijing bid feel that the disappointment eight years ago has given Beijing a good chance of winning this year.

They have been waging a hefty last minute public-relations campaign to win over what could be just a few crucial votes.

Meanwhile, protests over the human rights situation in China have also been gathering momentum.

The anti-Chinese feelings manifested themselves in Moscow Wednesday when police broke up a small demonstration by a group of Tibetans, arresting eight people saying they lacked a proper permit.

A smaller protest by the same group Thursday led to the arrests of two people.

The human rights issue is one that Beijing's rivals hope will be the Chinese downfall.

"Everybody, including the IOC, has been informed about the record of human rights in every candidate country," said Jean-Paul Huchon, president of the Paris bid.

"So, it is up to the IOC to fulfill its responsibility."

Opponents of Beijing's bid also point to the timing of the trial for scholar Li Shaomin, a U.S. citizen detained on espionage charges.

The trial is set to open less than 12 hours after the IOC announces its decision on whether Beijing will host the Games.

But while critics of the Beijing bid were unified in their concerns over China's human rights record and the politics of the bid, Chinese officials have been working equally hard to downplay those fears.

Wong Wei, secretary-general of the Beijing bid, says human rights conditions in China have improved greatly in recent years.

"The '90s was the open-up policy of China," he said. "And with the economic development of China, all aspects of social factors have been enhanced, including human rights."

China's turn

China has never before hosted the Games.

Having come so close to staging the 2000 Olympics, Chinese bid officials believe now is the time for the Games to come to the world's most populous nation.

The bid has the full backing of the Chinese government, and enthusiasm in China for the Games is huge, with 600,000 volunteers already signed up to work if China is selected.

Since 1998, China has been pouring money into its attempt to get the Games, spending $15 billion each year on infrastructure alone.

Human rights issues continue to dog China's bid

China believes it has the best facilities, the best organization, and an unrivaled appetite to stage the Olympics.

Meanwhile Toronto, a finalist for the 1996 Games, remains hotly tipped and there has been growing optimism that Beijing's early lead could work in Toronto's favor.

In the last two decades, the final vote has never gone to the so-called red-hot favorites.

Canadian officials were also contrasting their city to Beijing, calling it the "risk-free choice."

"Toronto is one of the safest cities of the world," said John Bitove, president of Toronto 2008.

"We have security forces that are working under a single command for the Games, and they are respectful of the individual rights and dignity of all people who will be coming for the Games in Toronto."

Underdog vote

Paris has also been heavily plugging its bid in the final run-up to voting.

The city staged an extremely successful World Cup in 1998 and has facilities like the new Stade de France, which is envied across the world.

As the vote neared, Osaka and Istanbul tried to garner the underdog vote.

Osaka is proposing a unique array of facilities spread over three manmade islands, which has caught the attention of journalists and IOC members alike, but its bid was not expected to have the strength ultimately to land the Games.

Istanbul retained an air of optimism but knows that because neighboring Greece will stage the 2004 Games, its chances are slim.

Before final voting begins Friday all five cities are expected to make their final presentations to the IOC, followed by a final report from the IOC evaluation commission, which has spent months studying the bids.