The bid city election procedure

By CNN's Andrew Demaria

(CNN) -- Tensions will be high among bid city delegates as they await the International Olympic Committee's final vote Friday on who will host the 2008 Olympic Games.

The three fancied contenders, Beijing, Toronto and Paris, are all confident they have secured enough votes to get the nod.

If voting is as close as it was in 1993, when Sydney edged out Beijing by two votes to win the 2000 Games, years of planning and effort may come down to one final last minute pitch, made only hours before the election.

On Friday morning at Moscow's World Trade Center before an audience that includes the 122 voting IOC members, each of the candidate cities will make a presentation in a do-or-die effort to win more crucial votes.

VIDEO Landmarks, infrastructure, and a modern transit system have organizers believing in Paris' 2008 Olympic bid. CNN's Peter Humi reports (July 9) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media) Hosting the Olympic games may not deliver on all of its economic promises. CNN's Grant Holloway reports (July 11) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)   EXTRA INFORMATION • CNNSI's Brian Cazeneuve previews the contenders   • SI's Frank Deford's viewpoint on host city selection     MORE STORIES • Beijing bid: The most expensive Games ever?   • Paris' big obstacle may be Athens   • Beijing 2008: The games of reform?   • China holds its breath   • Beijing bid goes green   • ANALYSIS: Minus the rhetoric, Beijing goes for gold again     RESOURCES • 2008 bid city profiles   • The election procedure     MORE STORIES • Olympics: A very political Games   • Lessons learnt from Sydney   Olympic dreams for China's young athletes     EXTRA INFORMATION IN-DEPTH:   The Olympic decision approaches.    CNN.com Asia More news from our Asia edition

A maximum of six delegates from each city's bid will be able to speak and will have enjoyed a four-hour on-site rehearsal earlier in the week. For most, the speech will have been rehearsed for weeks, even months.

Osaka, considered an outsider unlikely to challenge the three main contenders, will present first at 9:30a.m. local time (0530GMT). Paris follows, then Toronto, Beijing and finally Istanbul.

While most of the IOC members will have already made up their minds, any last minute stumbles in the presentation may lose votes. A further 15 minutes is allowed for IOC members to pose questions to each presentation.

The Chairman of the Evaluation Commission then presents its report on the technical aspects of the five candidate cities, compiled after visits to each earlier this year.

Voting rounds

At 6:00p.m. (1400GMT), the election begins, made electronically by the 122 voting IOC members.

Each member has one vote and must refrain from taking part if a candidate city from his or her country is involved.

That means members from each of the five nations -- China, France, Canada, Japan and Turkey -- cannot vote unless their country is eliminated.

No proxy votes, abstentions, blank or spoiled votes are considered and members cannot leave the room once voting commences.

The vote may also be a secret ballot, as is generally the case, if the Chairman, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch so decides or at least a quarter of the members request it.

Ultimately the city that wins the 2008 Games must be elected by a simple majority.

Elimination

If no majority is gained, the city with the lowest number of votes is eliminated.

If two or more cities tie on the lowest number of votes, a separate poll is held to decide which one of these cities is eliminated. The process continues until only the winning city remains. On present form, only Beijing could get an early majority and in that case, the voting process should be quick.

The last election for the Summer Games city took five rounds, with Athens finally seizing the prize from the more fancied Rome by 15 votes.

In Friday's poll, Istanbul and Osaka are expected to be eliminated in the first two rounds, before a three-way battle between Beijing, Paris and Toronto.

If there is a tie in the final round, the Chairman decides the winner.

Following the final round of voting, IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, in one of his final duties in that post, will announce the winner.

A media press conference is then scheduled for 8:00p.m. (1400GMT), lead by the host city of the 2008 Games