Istanbul Repositions; Tokyo's Golden Week; Madrid Promotes Women; Baku Hotel

Istanbul 2020 Repositions

Around the Rings understands that the Turkish government and Istanbul 2020 are working on a new-look strategy that will be communicated at SportAccord in Quebec City later this month.

The expected confirmation by UEFA that Turkey is the sole bidder for Euro 2020 after the May 15 deadline for expressions of interest is a scenario thought to be damaging to Istanbul's Olympic ambitions. Hosting two mega sporting events within two months would be a sizeable undertaking.

However, bid officials now believe they can kickstart a campaign to prove Istanbul is not only the best city to host the 2020 Olympics but also that the country is capable of staging the Games after the UEFA championships.

The IOC Executive Board meets May 23 to shortlist the 2020 candidate cities.

ATR understands that Istanbul 2020 has had talks with the IOC about the possibility of staging Euro 2020 and the Olympics over the same summer – and no one from the IOC administration has so far rejected the idea.

In the Olympic Charter, there is no restriction to holding another major sporting event close to the Olympics.

Under bye-law to Rule 34, which covers the location, sites and venues of the Olympics, the Olympic Charter states only that: "The organization, holding and media coverage of the Olympic Games shall not be impaired in any way by any other event taking place in the host city or its neighborhood or in other competition sites or venues."

But UEFA president Michel Platini, who has publicly championed Turkey for Euro 2020 after the country missed out to France in its quest for Euro 2016, has expressed concerns about Turkey's ability to host the quadrennial football showpiece and the Games in the same year.

With a further five European football associations last week ruling themselves out of bidding against Turkey for Euro 2020, Platini may have to revise his opinion.

Under UEFA guidelines, if Turkey turns out to be the only country bidding to stage the tournament, European football's governing body has said it would then proceed with collecting all necessary guarantees with the aim of confirming the hosts.

Crowds Pack Stadia for Japan's Golden Week

Huge crowds filled stadiums nationwide during Japan's Golden Week spring holidays, providing another demonstration of the country's appetite for sporting events.

Many top athletes vied for places at London 2012, including at the 51st NHK Cup International Gymnastics Tournament over the weekend in Yoyogi National Stadium, a legacy venue of the 1964 Games.

Two-time Olympic silver medalist Kohei Uchimura, who won the NHK title for the fourth consecutive time, had already been named to the five-member Olympic team in December. Four other athletes booked spots at the Olympics. On the women's front, Rie Tanaka secured a berth to her first Olympics, joining four other qualifiers who advance to London 2012.

Other sporting events hosted in Tokyo during Golden Week included the Judo National Championship, the 2012 London Olympic Qualifier for Trampoline and Synchro Japan Open.

"The excitement surrounding sporting events during Golden Week shows just how strong Japan's passion is for sport," said Tokyo 2020 CEO Masato Mizuno.

"Exhilarated crowds filled stadiums across the nation to see many of Japan's best athletes, creating feverish excitement as we point to the London Games. If Tokyo receives the honor of hosting the 2020 Games, it's easy to envision the electrifying atmosphere that impassioned Japanese sport fans would help to create."

Madrid Promotes Women in Sport Initiatives

Nearly 30,000 women of all ages took to the streets of Madrid and Segovia on Sunday to show their commitment to gender equality, health and the fight against diseases such as cancer.

They were backed by the Madrid 2020 bid, which is working hard to promote both competitive and recreational women’s sport.

Bid officials in Madrid joined the 22,000-plus women taking part in "La Carrera de la Mujer" – the second largest women’s run in Europe. Other bid chiefs attended the Segovia event where nearly 3,000 women who embarked on a walk to the city’s famous Roman aqueduct formed a human mosaic of the Madrid 2020 logo.

Madrid mayor Ana Botella, who was among city leaders at the event in the Spanish capital, said the women's race promoted the values of sport, dedication, achievement and a healthy lifestyle, all of them Olympic values to which Madrid 2020 is firmly committed.

Two-time Olympic medalist and Madrid 2020 international relations CEO Theresa Zabell said: "These initiatives show the value and the importance of supporting everyone who plays sport on a recreational basis, of giving our backing to the people who go out into our streets to do so, because we’ve got a city that is absolutely ready and thrilled to welcome everyone."

Baku Opens Four Seasons Hotel

The Baku Four Seasons Hotel is the eighth five-star hotel to open in Baku in the last 12 months.

"Blue chip hotel brands like the Four Seasons do not just invest millions of dollars on a whim," Baku 2020 CEO Konul Nurrulayeva said in a statement.

"They will have looked very closely at what is happening in Baku today and have come to the firm conclusion that the city is fast turning into a world-class destination – for business, for tourism and for sport – and they have decided that they want to be a part of that spectacular transformation."

The bid says the hotel is in the center of its Waterfront Cluster and has 171 rooms.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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