MUMBAI: Hosting the most important sporting event Olympic Games is a matter of pride and prestige for countries around the globe. China is set to host the next edition in 2008. The question is who will be the host in 2012?

The 117th International Olympic Committee Session in Singapore is taking place nowin order to answer this question and business and financial broadcaster ChannelNews Asia is bringing viewers coverage of the event.

MediaCorp News CEO Woon Tai Ho says, "Every night at 7:30 pm for 15 minutes we will give a profile of a country contending for the Olympic Games. There will a lot of interest from around the world on 6 July. That's when each country, starting with Paris, will do a one hour pitch to the IOC. It is expected to be visually dynamic".

It is estimated that a billion television viewers in some 200 countries will tune into the International Olympic Committee (IOC) vote on 6 July 2005 and Channel NewsAsia will be at the Raffles City Convention Centre to bring daily updates throughout the day from 3 July. The opening ceremony at the Esplanade Theatre will also be aired "live" on Channel NewsAsia. Some IOC sessions will be held behind closed doors and Channel NewsAsia broadcast journalists will be on the ground to bring those latest developments.

Woon says, "Once the IOC's decision is announced, we will capture the reactions of the country that wins the bid. We'll also try to go to the country that did not win the bid, to see what their reactions are." Channel NewsAsia will also be bringing viewers stories on how preparations are shaping up, leading to the big day.