Washington, Sep 12 (DPA) First Lady Michelle Obama will be on hand to root for her home town of Chicago when the International Olympic Committee announces which city can host the 2016 competition, the White House said Friday.

Michelle Obama will travel to Copenhagen for the ceremony Oct 2. Chicago is hoping to win out over Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

'There is no doubt in my mind that Chicago would offer the world a fantastic setting for these historic games and I hope that the Olympic torch will have the chance to burn brightly in my hometown,' she said in a statement.

There had been speculation that President Barack Obama would make the trip. But the White House said Obama, who spent much of his adult life in Chicago and has strongly supported the bid, was too focused on a difficult health care debate in the US Congress to attend.