IOC Chief: Tight Race for 2020 Olympics; No Changes to Rio Program

(ATR) IOC President Jacques Rogge says the race for the 2020 Olympics will go right to the wire.

Speaking to reporters in a conference call, Rogge said there is "very little separation" between Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo.

"The last weeks will be important and the last presentation also," the Belgian said, adding that it was the different Olympic visions offered by each city which would help make members minds up for the IOC vote on Sept. 7.

"It’s going to be a tight race," he added.

Rogge fielded a wide range of questions in the 30-minute conference call, including about preparations for Sochi 2014, Rio 2016 and the Olympic sports program.

Several questions came about the protests that rocked Brazil last month, with violent demonstrations about the lack of spending in public services and investment of billions of dollars for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Games.

Rogge said FIFA’s flagship event would be a big boost for the Olympics: "I believe the FIFA World Cup will be a success."

"Public investments are for the long term. Public investments are not for the short term. It's not for the two weeks of the Olympic Games or the month of the FIFA World Cup," he told reporters.

"The investments are for generations to come… be it the metro, be it the bus line, be it improvements of the airport, be it improvement of the harbor. This will serve the community for a very long time."

Asked if the protests might trigger a change in thinking by the IOC, FIFA and organizing committees about how to sell the benefits of mega-events and legacy to a skeptical public, he said: "We have to explain very clearly to the public that the investments [stadia, transportation, infrastructure] made in the Olympic Games will be a sustainable legacy for generations to come."

With less than three years to go, Rogge claimed he was satisfied with progress on the Rio 2016 project.

"There are still a lot of things to be achieved," he said.

He added: "We have urged our friends of the organizing committee to accelerate," he said.

"But I remain optimistic and there is absolutely no concern whatsoever on the quality of the Games."

Questioned about the sports program for Rio 2016, Rogge confirmed that no new disciplines or events would be added to the Games, despite many requests from international federations. It means no 3-on-3 basketball, mixed relay in triathlon or BMX freestyle, which were among events considered.

Rogge said the IOC invited requests from federations based on keeping their sports quota-neutral. But he explained that the federations had "expanded over this request" asking for more medal events and athletes. In total, they went over the IOC’s cap of 10,500 athletes and about 300 medal events.

"We decided not to inflate the Games and that we would not accommodate more events for 2016," he said of last week’s Executive Board decision in Lausanne.

Rogge said a new in-depth study of the summer Olympic sports program based on disciplines rather than sports – and without expanding the size of the Games – would conclude in 2017 for the 2020 Olympics. It’s an initiative of ASOIF, he added.

The IOC chief has kept a close watch on the big build for Sochi 2014, with virtually all venues built from scratch.

He said work on the first Russian winter Olympics was going according to plan.

"I’m very confident about the organization. Constructions are finished, they are now in the operational phase," he said, adding that security was a top priority for the IOC and host authorities, following a question about the impact of the Boston Marathon bombing and other terror threats. "I am sure they will deliver."

Reported by Mark Bisson

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