LAUSANNE: The three cities bidding for the right to host the 2020 Summer Olympics had the first of their two presentations to the electorate who will decide their fate, the International Olympic Committee yesterday.
While none of the three - Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo - can win or suffer a fatal blow at the technical presentation, it does give them an ideal opportunity to soothe the IOC members doubts or fears emanating from either last week’s Evaluation Commission Report or recent events within their respective countries.
The decisive vote comes on September 7 in Buenos Aires. The 2020 Games bid teams from Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo approached their presentations yesterday all in relatively good heart, emboldened by positive assessments by the Evaluation Commission.
Istanbul will be keen their message about being a bridge to different cultures, religions and generations returns to centre stage after an uncomfortable period when mass street protests in Turkey threatened to destabilise the bid.
Madrid - whose delegation will be led by Crown Prince Felipe the heir to the Spanish throne - will have an even greater spring in their step following the Evaluation Commission’s decision to give them the thumbs up over their relatively modest planned budget.
Tokyo, the only one of the three to have previously hosted the Games in 1964, still appear to be the favourites after a glowing report from the Commission but question marks remain over whether their campaign has sufficiently impressed the members. REUTERS
