of olympics, video-games, and pitches

Writing the last post about Wii vs. PS3, it reminded me of the impressive presentation that won London the bid for the Olympic Games of 2012. It must seem like something totally unrelated, but those who saw Sebastian Coe's presentation here in Singapore, in July last year, can understand. In his speech, which some considered the performance of his life, Coe mentioned the diminishing role of sports for today's youth, in a world so full of "conflicting messages and competing distractions" (video-games, for example), and how London could help in bringing sports back to the center stage. It was a clever strategy, touching on the emotional role of sports much more than on any other rational argument. And it was delivered brilliantly by Sebastian Coe, in a speech that watching today still gives me chills. You can watch it here (click on "London's presentation). It's 45min long, but if you want to learn how you win an Olympic bid (or any business pitch, for that matter), that's the way you do it.