Bidding for the Games -- Rome, Venice Compete for Italian 2020 Nomination

(ATR) Rome and Venice are vying to represent Italy in the race to host the 2020 Olympic Games. The Eternal City is capitalizing on its history and preparedness, with Venice emphasizing its cultural fascination.

The mayors of Rome and Venice handed in their initial dossiers to the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) last month.

CONI president Gianni Petrucci is chairman of the commission evaluating the bids, which includes the Italian IOC members Mario Pescante, Franco Carraro, Ottavio Cinquanta, Francesco Ricci Bitti and Manuela Di Centa. CONI is expected to decide on a candidate by the end of April.

The dossiers presented by Rome and Venice are thick with renovation projects and maps detailing how the two cities are bracing to host a Games that is expected to attract around three million spectators.

Rome appears to be the favorite applicant and better set to stage an Olympics, even though it lost to Athens in the race for the 2004 Games.

Rome Pushes Olympic Legacy

Rome, which hosted the 1960 Games, is capitalizing on its experience in hosting big events such as the funeral of Pope John Paul II and the 2009 Champions League final. The events gathered thousands of people and tested the capital’s infrastructure and logistics.

The city plans to use 42 sporting facilities. Of these, 33 already exist, five are to be built and four would be only temporary.

Competition would take place in two dedicated areas, one in the north of the city - around the Olympic Stadium - and one in the southwest.

A cleaned-up river Tiber, which crosses the whole city, will help connect the two sites with a sailing path of 12km, cycling tracks and pedestrian bridges.

"These Olympics Games are not an isolated event. We have laid out a development plan for the city, which will be implemented over the course of the next 10 years. It will speed up projects … that will remain as a legacy," Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno told reporters at a presentation of the city’s candidacy.

"Almost nothing that we will build for 2020 will be wasted, like a cathedral in the desert."

The northern Olympic area would include the main Olympic Park, where all the major events will be held and the Olympic Village which could accommodate 18,000 people. Around 5,000 media representatives would be accommodated in a nearby Media Village.

The southern site earmarked for the 2020 Games would host competition in 12 sports including fencing and judo. It will be used by about a third of the athletes and attract almost 20 percent of spectators.

Venice Rises to the Challenge

Some commentators have raised concerns that Venice, built on an archipelago, lacks the necessary space for the facilities needed to stage the 2020 Olympics. For example, the lagoon city will have to build a brand new 80,000 capacity stadium.

The stadium would be at the center of an 'Olympic Quadrant', which includes mainland areas near the Marco Polo airport as well as the nearby cities of Padua and Treviso.

Venice plans to use a total of 26 venues - 73 percent permanent and 27 percent temporary. City leaders say 65 percent of facilities would be in place at the time the Games are awarded - in 2013 - and 35 percent dependent on the success of the bid.

The city's Olympic Village would also be ready to host 18,000 people. Venice does not plan to have a Media Village, instead relying on existing accommodation.

"It is with firm belief that Venice is applying to be the host of the Olympic Games," said Mayor Massimo Cacciari. "This is a great challenge that I believe this region, this territory and this city are ready to face and win."

Italian Sports Commentator View

Rome-based sport commentator Erminio Marcucci, who is following the 2020 Olympic application process for leading sports daily Gazzetta dello Sport, said both cities have good chances, even though Rome is leading the race.

"I think Rome has an advantage, it has more facilities ready and they have already hosted the Games," he tells Around the Rings.

"Venice, on the other side, is a fascinating city, a cultural center that never hosted the Games before and would greatly benefit from the new sporting facilities they plan to build."

However, Marcucci said Rome also has a more compact venues plan. "It’s best to concentrate everything in a tight area, both for a security issue concerning the athletes and also to guarantee them an easy and comfortable itinerary from point A to point B," Marcucci noted.

The cities bid budgets only differ slightly: Rome is preparing to spend a total of over $61 million, one million dollars more than Venice.

Rome would spend $20 million in the first application phase and Venice $18 million. The cities estimated that the candidature phase would cost them $41 million and $42 million respectively.

Rome expects revenues from ticket sales, marketing and lotteries to reach $1.8 billion, while Venice believes it can raise $2.47 billion.

Both cities are planning to host the Olympics at a time when residents are more likely to be on vacation, reducing traffic and city congestion - they each plan to stage the Games from July 24 to August 9, 2020 with the Paralympics following later that month.

A decision on whether to rely on Rome’s past experience and existing infrastructure or instead bet on the novelty of Venice lies now with CONI's 10-member evaluation committee.

The IOC will officially open the 2020 bidding process next year, with the vote on the Olympic city coming at its session in Buenos Aires in 2013.

With reporting from Marta Falconi.