2020 Roundup - Blanco Discusses Madrid Strategy; Istanbul Tours Europe; Tokyo Aquatics Plan

(ATR) Madrid 2020 leader Alejandro Blanco tells Around the Rings the bid team is ramping up its campaign in the final 40 days in a bid to secure the Olympics at its third attempt.

"Until September 7, Madrid 2020 is going to be everywhere we can go in order to promote," he told ATR.

After promoting the bid at the aquatics world championships in Barcelona, the Spanish NOC president and Madrid officials travel to Moscow for the athletics world championships next week followed by the judo world championships in Rio de Janeiro at the end of August.

"This [the Olympics] is one of the main objectives for the whole of Spain. You cannot stop, we are pushing and working," he said, explaining that the bid team would be speaking to more IOC members to explain "how Madrid is planning and why we should be selected".

"We have 100 percent confidence," Blanco added, mentioning that Madrid had full respect for the rival bids of Istanbul and Tokyo.

Blanco declined to confirm if or how Madrid 2020 might use Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal or other sportsmen and women in the final weeks of the campaign. But he indicated that some big names would be rolled out.

"The strength [for Madrid 2020] comes not just from the athletes but from the population," he said, highlighting the high level of public support for the Olympics in Spain.

Asked about the secret of his energy levels as the bidding race steps up a gear in the lead-up to the IOC vote on Sept. 7, he said: "The secret is to live for and by the sports 24 hours a day. You can only understand if you have a passion for the sports.

"Sport is my life, my passion. I feel so lucky I can live only sleeping three hours per day. I have a lot of time to work."

Blanco said the successfully-staged Barcelona aquatics world championships is a boost for Madrid 2020.

"Each event happening in Spain is a path to September 7… it helps to engage. It shows how good we are in planning and organizing."

Istanbul European Tour

Bid leader Hasan Arat continued his European tour with a stop-off in Belgium Thursday where he underlined Istanbul’s Olympic credentials at a briefing with reporters.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Istanbul 2020 chairman, met with senior figures from the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie and the French media in a demonstration of the bid’s commitment to promoting the French language and francophone culture throughout the Olympic Movement should Turkey be awarded the Games.

Over the past week, Arat has also spent time in Barcelona at the swimming world championships and in London promoting the bid.

Around the Rings has learned that on Friday, a "rigorous test" of the Marmaray Tunnel will he held; it’s one of the key new arterial routes proposed for the Istanbul 2020 Games to ensure free flowing traffic for non-Olympic client groups.

In comments to French news agency AFP, Arat said an IOC vote for Istanbul would be giving "hope, trust and peace to a region." It would be the first Games to be hosted by a predominantly Muslim country.

He suggested a Turkish Olympics could bring more understanding of the region and its different cultures: "The Olympic Movement can open the door to a new culture."

Japan’s 2020 Aquatics Plan

Tokyo 2020 president Tsunekazu Takeda will talk up the Olympic bid’s aquatics plans in a Friday briefing in Barcelona on the sidelines of the FINA World Championships.

Bid CEO Masato Mizuno and Daichi Suzuki, Olympian and president of the Japanese Swimming Federation, are also speaking at the event.

Takeda said Tokyo 2020 would bid trying to convince IOC members of the city’s merits "until the final minute", refusing to say which of Istanbul and Madrid presented the greater threat to the Japanese capital’s chances. "It’s very difficult to say — both cities are working very hard," he was quoted by AFP.

Reported by Mark Bisson.

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