The first lady, Michelle Obama, has held face to face meetings with IOC members, including AOC President John Coates, to push for her hometown of Chicago ahead of the crucial vote for host city of the 2016 Olympic Games.

Perched in a suite of the Marriott Hotel in Copenhagen the US President’s wife has greeted a steady stream of IOC members who must decide in a few hours time between Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio.

All were swept away by her charm.

“You can’t help being swept away by her charm,” Coates said as he emerged from his twenty minute meeting.

“She is obviously very proud of her city and its people and believes Chicago can stage a spectacular Olympic Games”.

Coates presented her with two Boxing Kangaroo soft toys for her daughters Malia Anne, aged 10, and Sasha aged 7.

“The first lady stressed the importance of engaging in sport internationally. She emphasised the close friendship she and her husband share with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and his wife Therese Rein,” Coates said.

“We hold them in the highest regard,” Mrs Obama told Coates.

President Barack Obama is due in Copenhagen just a few hours before the four bid cities present their final pitch to the 105 IOC members (from 445pm Friday AEST). Both he and his wife will address the IOC Session.

The other Australian IOC members, Kevan Gosper and Phil Coles, also met with Mrs Obama today.

”She is an astonishing lady,” Gosper said.

The queue to meet the first lady included members of the different royal families from around the world.

In all the meetings she stressed the importance of the Olympic Games coming to America to encourage young people to participate in sport.

In his meeting, John Coates outlined the AOC’s highly successful education program which reaches schools throughout Australia via the internet. He explained the Chat to a Champ program where Olympians speak on-line to schools right across the country about the Olympic ideals of fair play, respect and honesty as well as the need to compete to do your best.

They also joked about the proposed rowing venue being in the bay in the heart of Chicago.

”If Chicago wins rowing for once will be the Olympic showpiece and not miles out of town,” Coates said.

Chicago has 14 Olympic gold medallists in Copenhagen promoting their campaign and Oprah Winfrey made a late, but very grand entrance, to Copenhagen to further boost their quest to win the right to stage the Games.

Mike Tancred - AOC
Copenhagen