 Chirac made comments stating that "the only worse food than British food is Finnish" and "the only thing the British have done for Europe's agriculture is mad cow disease".Not only were Chirac's comments considered unsportsmanlike where the normal etiquette is not to criticize rival cities, there was also the presence of two Finnish members on the International Olympic Committee who would vote in the final ballot.Out of the competing candidate cities, the bid was widely acknowledged as the front runner but Paris's narrow loss to arch-rival London led many to believe that Chirac's comments were at fault.