TORONTO, 18 May — Inspired by IOC’s Evaluation Commission report, the officials of Toronto’s Olympic Bid Committee, yesterday evolved a new strategy to win the right for staging 2008 Summer Games.

According to official sources here, the TO Bid Committee has identified areas where it has to concentrate more till July 13 when the International Olympic Committee chooses which city will host the 2008 Olympics.

The IOC Evaluation Commission report which was released in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Tuesday said Beijing, Paris and Toronto “are more or less at the same level” and that no difference was intended when the commission wrote that Beijing “could” stage excellent Games.

“The committee has rated three bids as excellent,” Hein Verbruggen, the Evaluation Commission, was quoted as saying in Lausanne. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Mayor Mel Lastman were prompt in expressing their satisfaction and happiness over the Evaluation Commission report and said Toronto is among the front-runners.

They hoped their wonderful city will win the three-horse race in July this year. “I’m happy Toronto qualified,” said the prime minister, adding: “We worked very hard and we we’re in a good standing.”

“It looks great, with four’s,” an upbeat Lastman said Wednesday. “I think our chances are phenomenal, they are getting better all the time and this report is great,” he said.

As part of Toronto Olympic Bid Committee’s strategy, Mayor Lastman will embark on a second European tour in about two weeks to firm up the bid in Milan, Barcelona and other cities — pushing Toronto’s diversity and the compact nature of the bid.

Meanwhile, Federal Transport Minister David Collenette said the committee’s evaluation recognized points Toronto stressed in its bid, from the athletes’ village on Lake Ontario to government cooperation to good hotels.

Canada’s famous columnist Royson James opined that Toronto’s Olympic hopes now depend on ABC (Anyone But China ) coalition. In his column — The Cities, he wrote: Toronto is sitting right where it had hoped to be — in second place — a mere 56 days before the IOC’s vote.

The city may be a distant second to Beijing; and the placement, following the release of the IOC evaluation report, might not be good enough to snag the prize.

But under the circumstances, facing world powerhouses Beijing and Paris, this is as good a position as could have been expected, he wrote.

“Now, TO Bid officials will be jetting across the globe trying to coalesce the ABC votes on the IOC around Toronto’s bid.”