Race for 2020 - Madrid Confident for Finance; Istanbul Learns from Past

Madrid Leader Confident

In the wake of Rome's exit from the 2020 Olympics race due to the country's debt crisis, Madrid leader Alejandro Blanco tells Around the Rings he has "total confidence" the Spanish bid will not suffer the same fate.

"We have total confidence in our bid due to the solvency and 100 percent support from the Spanish government in spite of the financial crisis," Blanco told ATR Wednesday.

Declaring that 80 percent of the infrastructure was already in place for a Madrid Olympics, he added: "Although the difficult economic situation we are going through, Spain is still willing to organize high level sport events with total excellence."

Blanco, who is also president of the Spanish Olympic Committee, noted that Spain would be hosting world championships in basketball, handball, road cycling world championship, swimming and shooting in the coming years.

Concerns around the viability of Madrid's bid grew Tuesday when Italian premier Mario Monti pulled the plug on Rome's bid, saying investment of taxpayer money for the Olympic project would be "irresponsible" amid the country's financial crisis.

Like Italy, Spain is similarly afflicted with financial problems that could impact the government's commitment to Madrid 2020.

Blanco, who led the Madrid 2020 delegation to Lausanne Tuesday for the handover of the city's applicant file, insisted the bid could maintain the government's support and already impressive public support for the Olympic campaign as nationwide cutbacks begin to bite.

"The last public surveys have revealed that more than an 80 percent of Spanish citizens support the organization of the Olympic Games, the young people being the most enthusiastic about it," he said.

"Ninety per cent of the respondents to the survey consider that the Games would represent a big support to our economy, new job opportunities and, above all, would be a new source of excitement and hope for the country."

Turkish Bid Completes Five-City Field for 2020

Istanbul bid chief Hasan Arat dismisses the notion that Rome's withdrawal from the 2020 race has improved the city's chances of landing the Games after four previous bid failures.

Rome was considered an early favourite in the opening months of the bidding contest.

"I think this is a really equal race," Arat told ATR after his bid delegation had submitted the Istanbul applicant file to IOC headquarters Wednesday.

Istanbul was the last of the five cities to hand over its bid dossier to the IOC. Baku, Doha, Madrid and Tokyo were on site in Lausanne to deliver their bid documents earlier this week.

"It is a long journey for all of us. We need to work very hard. All cities are very strong so we have to do our homework well," added the vice president of the Turkish NOC.

Asked about the strengths of the bid, Arat said the Games would span two continents, joining east and west, the old and new worlds. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has identified Istanbul 2020 as a personal priority.

"Istanbul offers fantastic possibilities, a bridge to united futures," he said, noting that a Turkish Olympics would the first time the Games have been held in a secular Islamic country.

Hasan said this fifth bid for the Games is better because of Istanbul's four previous bids.

"We have learnt so much from those bids," he said.

Arat insisted the Istanbul bid was on a firm financial footing in Europe’s fastest-growing economy: "We have already given our guarantees to the IOC. We are very confident on that [finances]."

The budget for the Games will be unveiled in May if Istanbul is named as a candidate city for the second phase of the bidding contest.

Arat said next month's Indoor World Athletics Championships would be a good showcase for Istanbul's major event capabilities and the bid plan.

Assessing the challenges ahead, he added: "We have to work very hard to improve the understanding of the Istanbul bid. Istanbul 2020 will be a spectacular theatre for the greatest show on earth because we have such fantastic dreams."

Istanbul 2020 marked the applicant file handover with the launch of the bid’s Twitter feed, @2020_istanbul and Facebook page.

Istanbul 2020’s website - www.istanbul2020.com.tr - will go live Thursday morning.

"Turkey is a very youthful country. There are 20 million under-20s, and nearly half the population is under 25. We aim to reignite an entire generation’s passion for Olympism by mobilising our young people in support of the Games," Arat said in a statement. "Digital media is going to be crucial to that, and we are looking to start harnessing their enthusiasm right away."

Reported by Mark Bisson

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