Bidding for the Games - British YOG Bid; Doha Additions; Rome Support; Baku Handover

BOA "Delighted" With Glasgow YOG Interest

The British Olympic Association tells Around the Ringsit's "delighted" with Glasgow's interest in bidding for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

Monday was the deadline for British cities to formally express interest to the BOA in bidding for the YOG, and Scotland's largest city was the only one to officially do so.

"Several cities did enquire about the process, requirements, timelines and other factors," BOA spokesman Daryl Seibel tellsATR.

"We are delighted that Glasgow has formally submitted its application to be considered, should we ultimately elect to proceed with a bid."

A statement on the BOA website says the NOC will work with Glasgow before deciding whether to actually bid for the YOG on Feb. 27.

Glasgow will host the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Doha Adds Team Members

Doha 2020 is adding three new team members to its Olympic bid campaign.

The bid committee announced Monday that Fahad Juma will join as deputy CEO and technical director. Tariq Falamazi will be the legal director and Fatma Al-Ghanim will serve as marketing and communications director.

"We are building a talented Bid Committee and these latest appointments further strengthen our team as we head into an important phase of the 2020 campaign," Doha 2020 CEO Noora Al Mannai said in a statement.

On Feb. 10, Doha 2020 will unveil a logo, slogan and website.

Al Mannai also commented that the bid committee’s applicant file is near completion. "We are proud of its content and the hosting plans and legacy vision it contains, and look forward to making its contents public next month after it is submitted to the IOC," she said.

Doha, and the five other cities bidding for the 2020 Olympics, must submit their applicant files to the IOC by Feb. 15.

Olympian Supports Rome Bid

Olympic champion gymnast Jury Chechi says Rome should push forward with its Olympic bid.

In response to an interview with Olympic athlete and politician Pietro Mennea in Corriere della Sera, Chechi wrote a letter to the paper saying the Games would be a "great opportunity" for Rome –and for Italy.

Chechi wrote that Rome "can at last give life to a truly sustainable Olympics, free of white elephants."

He added: "Rome has the chance to start a new era: 75% of venues already exist. We would only need to build two new facilities: the velodrome and the rowingcourse. This approach has nothing to do with the multi-billions spent by Beijing for sports venues that were then left unused."

Mennea said last week that Italy, going through a financial crisis at the moment, cannot afford to bid for the Games. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is considering pushing the Olympic bid to 2024 due to the country’s economic woes, a decision expected from Monti by mid-February. Chechi argues that Rome should continue to vie to host the 2020 Olympics.

"I am fully aware of the difficultiesthat Italy is going through and I thoroughly understand our Prime Minister Mario Monti’s prudence. Indeed, I’m proud of it. But I would also add that now is precisely the time to look forward," Chechi said.

"This is why I say: let’s aim without a doubt for 2020," he ended the letter.

Baku to Present Applicant File

Baku’s applicant file for the 2020 Olympics will be presented in Azerbaijan next month.

Azeri media outlet Trend reports that Chingiz Huseynzade, vice president of the country’s National Olympic Committee, said the presentation of the documents will be held Feb. 12 and 13.

The file will be presented to the IOC on Feb. 15. Baku is competing against Doha, Istanbul, Madrid, Rome and Tokyo to host the Games in 2020.

Written by Ann Cantrell.

20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.