TOKYO -- Atlanta's big bucks potential and high-tech know-how triumphed over the sentimental tug of Athens Tuesday in the battle to stage the 1996 Summer Olympics.
The six-candidate contest went the full five rounds before the 86 voting members of the International Olympic Committee provided a decisive 51-35 victory for the Georgia capital.
After Belgrade, Yugoslavia and British flagbearer Manchester were eliminated in the first two rounds, Australian hopeful Melbourne and Toronto were the next casualties, pitting Athens and Atlanta in the final vote.
'Coca Cola has won over the Parthenon, but not history,' said Melina Mercouri, the movie actress who now serves in the Greek Parliament in Athens, the birthplace of the Olympics.
The large Atlanta contingent in Tokyo burst into whoops of joy when IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch announced the result before a world-wide television audience.
Bill Payne, president of the Atlanta bidding committee, yelled 'unbelievable' and Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson's wife Valerie wept. Payne was still trying to compose himself 30 minutes after the decision.
'It it very difficult to describe what we have accomplished and perhaps even more difficult to describe or even imagine the work we have yet to do,' he said.
'We promised the members of the International Olympic Committe today that we would stage the best ever Olympic Games in 1996. First and foremost, we are going to honor that commitment.'
Back at home, thousands of jubilant Atlantans poured into the streets as dawn broke Tuesday to celebrate. Crowds stayed up all night at the Underground Atlanta tourist attraction downtown, awaiting news of the announcement from Tokyo on giant-screen TV sets. As hundreds of citizens jumped, whooped and danced through the streets, bands and fireworks added to the clamor.
Atlanta, which stands to have billions of dollars pumped into its economy, becomes the third U.S. city to stage the Summer Games, following St. Louis in 1904 and Los Angeles in 1932 and 1984.
Increased television revenue for peak-time viewing in the United States worked strongly to Atlanta's advantage. But there also were concerns of an overly commercial, jingoistic Olympics, like the 1984 Los Angeles Games, which reaped a $227 million profit for the organizers.
A North American alliance proved Athens' downfall with 17 of Toronto's 22 votes shifting to Atlanta following the Canadian challenger's fourth-round elimination.
Greece is the birthplace of the ancient and modern Olympics and that weighed mightily on the voters in the selection of the centennial Games. The 1992 Olympics will be held in Barcelona.
But Athens, for all its romantic appeal, presented a range of obstacles for voters: Air pollution, insufficient facilities, poor airport, security concerns.
'I knew it. We could not beat the Americans,' said Tiverios Ananiadis, 45, upon hearing the announcement in Athens' Constitution Square dorned with blue and white national flags. 'But I was hoping. After all it would have been good for the Olympic idea to stage the games here.'
Greek sportscaster Elias Basinas had less kind words.
'In the long run it will perhaps prove better that we did not get them,' Basinas said. 'They deserve Atlanta, the capital of Coca-Cola and of American crime.'
To win the bid, a city needed a majority of the IOC votes. When no candidate attained this majority, the city with the fewest votes was eliminated and a new vote taken. This process was repeated five times.
Belgrade, as expected, fell at the first hurdle, followed by British flagbearer Manchester, which polled only five votes in the second round.
The major turnaround came in the third round with Melbourne's exit. The Australians had been the second highest scorer in the previous round with 21 votes, two behind pace-setting Athens and one ahead of Atlanta.
The only time the Olympics came to the Southern Hemisphere was 1956 in Melbourne, and the Australians contended it was time for a return trip.
In the next fourth round, Toronto was the next casualty as Atlanta hit the front for the first time with 34 votes to Athens' 30.
As news reached about 1,000 hopeful partyers gathered early Tuesday on the field of the SkyDome in Toronto, Brian Bailey, 37, of Bradford, Ontario, said, 'It's a disgrace, it's disheartening, it's heartbreaking.'
Jim Swabson, 43, of Toronto, said the IOC members will regret their decision.
'Atlanta? If the muggers don't get 'em, the heat will,' he said.
An FBI report released last year said Atlanta had the highest crime rate in the United States.
Atlanta Mayor Jackson attributed the victory to his city's 'Dream Machine,' an army of volunteers under superb leadership.
'It is not about money and it is not about all the stadia we can build, it is about a set of values,' he said.
Andrew Young, the former Atlanta mayor and U.S. ambassador to the U.N., discounted the argument that U.S. television money swayed voters.
'President Samaranch himself said the IOC was structured so that similar revenues are received by television and sponsorship,' he said.
Richard Pound of Canada, an IOC vice president, said there had been a polarization between two voting factions -- the North Americans (Atlanta, Toronto) and the traditionalists (Athens, Melbourne).
'It is the approach of the new school compared to the old school candidature,' he said. 'Atlanta and Toronto put the same things on the table, only Atlanta put it across better. It is no surprise that most of the Toronto votes went to Atlanta in the final round. Someone in North America had to knock off Athens.'
He described the final showdown between Atlanta and Athens as a watershed in philosophy.
'Do we look back, or do we look ahead -- two choices between reflecting on historical values and looking forward to the second century of the Olympics,' he said.
In Toronto, about 1,000 hopeful partyers, gathered early Tuesday in the SkyDome awaiting Samaranch's announcement.
'It's a disgrace, it's disheartening, it's heartbreaking,' said Brian Bailey, 37, of Bradford, Ontario.
Added Jim Swabson, 43, of Toronto: 'Atlanta? If the muggers don't get 'em, the heat will.'
An FBI report released last year said Atlanta had the highest crime rate in the United States.
In Athens, blue and white national flags adorned downtown Constitution Square.
'I knew it. We could not beat the Americans,' said Tiverios Ananiadis, 45. 'But I was hoping. After all it would have been good for the Olympic idea to stage the Games here.'
However, Greek sportscaster Elias Basinas said Athens will benefit by not holding the Games. He said the Olympics have given in to commercial forces.
'They deserve Atlanta,' he said of the Games. 'The capital of Coca-Cola and of American crime.'
Manchester organizers said their bid helped the city shed its image as a grimy, industrial town.
'I know politics play a big part but you have to have luck,' said Paula Thomas, an Olympic sprinter and Manchester's athletic development officer. 'That can swing anything. We will be there for the 2000 Games.'
