June 19, 1999
Web posted at: 11:33 a.m. EDT (1533 GMT)

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- The Italian industrial city of Turin beat out the favored city of Sion, Switzerland, on Saturday to win the right to host the 2006 Winter Olympics.

The decision was announced by the International Olympic Committee after a secret ballot that gave Turin the victory by a vote of 53-46 on Saturday.

The vote, held at an IOC meeting in Seoul, was the first selection of a host city since the disclosure that Salt Lake City spent more than $1 million in inducements for IOC members in its successful bid for the 2002 Winter Games.

Turin succeeded in its first bid to be an Olympic host, bringing the games back to Italy for the first time since 1956. When the decision was announced, city residents broke into cheers, splashing each other with champagne and bestowing hugs and kisses on each other.

"For us it as a dream, now it is a reality," said Turin Mayor Valentino Castelani. "It's hard to be convinced, to be completely awake."

Swiss angry about Turin selection

But many of those who supported Sion in its bid to host the games, said Turin was chosen to spite Switzerland because it was a Swiss national who blew the whistle on Olympic corruption last December.

The disclosures made by Marc Hodler resulted in 10 IOC members being expelled or forced to resign. It also banned members from visiting bidding cities.

"Sion wasn't the loser, Sion was a victim. Today, the IOC was the loser," said Denis Oswald, a member of the Swiss delegation in Seoul.

Even Marco San Pietro, one of Turin's bid leaders, said Hodler's actions may have influenced the vote.

"I think for the Swiss bid, it would have been better if Mr. Hodler hadn't made his allegation," San Pietro said.

The race came down to a contest between two sharply different candidates -- Sion, a provincial capital of 26,000 in the heart of the Swiss Alps; and Turin, the northern Italian industrial city of 2.2. million.

Hodler agreed the vote was "unfair" to Sion. But at the end of the day, he took the general assembly podium to congratulate Turin and pledge to help the Italians make the 2006 games a success.

CNN Seoul Bureau Chief Sohn Jie-Ae and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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