IOC Firm on Promotional Rules for 2020 Bids; Anti-Doping Blow for Madrid

(ATR) The IOC will not back down on the severe restrictions on promotion imposed on 2020 Olympics bidders, Olympic Games executive director Gilbert Felli tells Around the Rings.

"We are not going to negotiate with cities," Felli told ATR onWednesday.

"We have the rules that are open to everybody before they apply for the Games. They know it very well. We are not going to change."

ATR understands that there is concern over the shortened timeframe for promotion for the 2020 bids. Candidates will largely be prohibited from international PR at the Olympics – a first for a bidding contest in the run-up to a host city vote.

Felli and his IOC colleagues are expected to come under pressure to relax the rules on global promotion at the two-day 2020 applicants seminar in Lausanne.

Commenting on the seminar, a Rome 2020 spokesman told ATR: "We are looking forward to the opportunity to ask a number of pertinent and specific questions, including clarifying the parameters of international promotion."

Under a calendar approved at the IOC Executive Board meeting in April, the period for international promotion for 2020 candidates is not allowed to begin until January 2013. That will exclude the London Games and other international sports meetings scheduled ahead of then.

Felli emphasizes to ATR that the new system is a fair one.

"We have just changed the period when they can start to do it [promotion]," Felli said, noting that the IOC might make exceptions for the candidate cities to be present at various sports conferences and meetings. But promotional activity would be banned.

"The cities have to respect the rules," he said.

Felli's comments come a week before he sits down with representatives from the 2020 applicant cities in Lausanne to discuss the bidding process. IOC officials will offer guidelines and advice on the process.

Baku, Doha, Istanbul, Madrid, Rome and Tokyo are the cities vying to stage the 2020 Games.

The IOC opted to cut the international PR period following a debrief of the 2016 Olympic bid cities last year. The decision was aimed at slashing the costs of bidding for theGames.Summer bid budgets can rocket to nearly $100 million.

Court Ruling on Doping Rules Hits Madrid 2020

The Spanish bid for the 2020 Games has received a blow after anti-doping rule changes adopted in 2009 to meet IOC concerns during Madrid's 2016 campaign were thrown out Tuesday by the country's supreme court.

Madrid is bidding for the third straight time after falling short for 2012 and 2016. (Getty Images)

The court upheld an appeal brought by Spain's professional cycling association, saying there had been "a lack of consultation with the interested parties" on the dope testing regime changes imposed by the government two years ago.

"The IOC will of course rely upon the World Anti-Doping Agency's advice, and so far Spain has been deemed compliant by WADA," an IOC spokesman was quotedby Reuters.

"As for the specific case of Madrid [2020 bid], the evaluation process has only just started, and there is still plenty of time for Spain to correct things should that be necessary," he said.

In September 2009, the Spanish government adjusted anti-doping laws to be in full compliance with WADA rules for out-of-competition testing and to resolve the IOC's lingering concerns on the issue.

The IOC Evaluation Commission for the 2016 Olympics had flagged non-compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code as an issue for the Madrid bid.

Bids Gear Up for Applicants Seminar

ATR is told that the Madrid 2020 team will be among the bids traveling to Lausanne next week without any international advisor on board.

While Doha and Rome have both appointed consultants in recent weeks, the other four bids – Baku, Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo – appear to be in no rush to sign contracts until after the applicants seminar.

Doha 2020 is being advised by Mike Lee's VERO Communications, withAndrew Craig working on international relations. Atlanta-based Helios Partners was the choice of the Rome bid, the announcement coming at the start of October.

Helios was the first of the leading bid consultant firms to reach an agreement among the six cities applying to bid for 2020.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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