Moscow Subdued After 2012 Olympics Snub

MOSCOW - Some hooted in dismay, but most stood subdued in clear disappointment Wednesday when local citizens finally heard the news that Moscow failed in its bid to host the 2012 Olympics.

Moscow was the first of the five final cities to be eliminated by the

International Olympic Committee in its voting in Singapore, followed by New York and Madrid. London beat Paris in the final vote.

"We have an Olympic tradition here; we should have won," said Elena Ankudinova, a masseuse.

When Moscow was first eliminated, the crowd at Vasilyevski Spusk Square in the shadows of the Kremlin walls and St. Basil's Cathedral wasn't told the news. Instead, disco music thumped and a crew of smiling dancers stomped and swirled on the square's stage.

Some in the crowd didn't want to hear the early news.

"I won't believe it until they announce it on the stage. I'm still placing my faith in God," said a 40-year-old man who gave his name as Taras.

Another rally participant, teacher Olga Lezina, took a more realistic view.

"Now we're placing our hopes on 2016," she said.

Muscovites hoped that winning the bid to host the games would help remove the stain of the 1980

Summer Olympics, when the United States and other countries boycotted to protest the Soviet Union's war in

Afghanistan.

Moscow's bid was distinguished by an innovative plan to place most venues along or near the Moscow River, allowing for spectators to be transported by water taxi. But critics raised concerns about security, given Moscow's recent vulnerability to terrorist attacks, its dismal and overtaxed main international airport and laborious visa regulations.