There has been much written and more spoken, in some circles, about the recent visit by the IOC evaluation commission for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games bids. Here are some snippets to give a flavour of what transpired…
The rest is yet to come, at Sportaccord, later with further presentations to the IOC on 3-4 July; and then at the final selection in Buenos Aires on 7 September.
After the inspections ended, in Istanbul, Sir Craig Reedie the chairman of the IOC’s evaluation commission was quoted as saying “the quality of Olympic bids gets better and better every time there is a contest.” Reedie then noted that “excellent” should be considered by the media, for the sake of fair play, as equivalent to the adverbs “greatly” and “hugely” used for Tokyo and Madrid.
Tokyo 2020 notes:
- The Tokyo team is presenting itself as a safe and reliable choice – the hosting group included Toyota chairman Fujio Cho.
- The Games will be based upon the three values of Delivery, Celebration, and Innovation.
- Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose emphasised the economic strength of the bid by reminding the IOC Evaluation Commission that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government have already ringfenced a $4.3 billion reserve fund for construction of Olympic infrastructure.
- Tokyo 2020 estimated the 2020 Games' effect on the domestic economy could be worth as much as $38 billion with the creation of more than 150,000 jobs.
- Tokyo 2020’s submission presents the financial strength of Tokyo which will create certainty in delivery and outlines ‘winning assets’ and anticipated tangible and ‘soft’ legacies for the city, country, and global sport.
- The Tokyo Bay Zone will create a new sports and entertainment district in a sought-after waterfront area in Tokyo.
- 37 venues are projected of which 15 exist and 22 must be built, half of them permanent, half of them temporary; with almost all venues within an 8km radius of the city-centre.
- The original National Stadium, which was the focus for the 1964 Games, will be rebuilt to a Zaha Hadid design at a cost of $1.62 billion, with capacity increased to 80,000 – scheduled for completion in 2019, in time to host the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
You’ve gotta love this…remember (some may) that great character Fritz the Cat? Well, Doraemon, a robotic cat from the 22nd century, has been recruited to help Tokyo's bid to win the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. Doraemon is a Japanese manga series created in 1969 by Fujiko Fujio which later became an anime series. It is about an intelligent robotic cat who travels back in time from the 22nd century to aid a pre-teen boy, Nobita Nobi. Lots of Fritz in that cat!!
Madrid 2020 notes:
- "80 percent of the sport infrastructure, and probably far more of the non-sporting infrastructure, is already here which means there will be no need for major investments. Furthermore 80 percent of the citizens support the bid for the Games.” – Victor Sanchez, Technical advisor to Madrid 2020.
- Bid promoters, including Alejandro Blanco, head of the Spanish Olympic Committee, stressed that 28 of the 35 venues have already been built. Of the seven remaining venues, only four including the Olympic Stadium would be permanent, requiring bigger investments than the other three temporary constructions.
- Madrid’s budget to finish preparations is US$1.9 billion. Mr Blanco: Madrid’s plan is “responsible, in line with our resources and reality. It’s a solid project with clear, transparent budgets.”
- The Games can and should be organised under a ‘smart’ concept of optimising resources.
- Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012, has expressed his belief that Spain can host a successful Olympics Games in 2020.
Istanbul 2020 notes:
- Istanbul 2020 has unveiled a bid slogan of ‘Bridge Together’.
- Venues would be located in four zones and seven clusters around the city.
- In addition to three recently built stadiums there are plans to construct a stadium which will be used for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as for marathons.
- Istanbul 2020 announced their ‘five I’s’ transport strategy, promising Intelligent transport and traffic management schemes, Integrated approaches for systems and plans, Interoperable systems to ensure a seamless transport experience, Inclusive transport solutions to all Games clients and Immunity to incidents and unforeseen events.
- The bid includes plans for a substantial training precinct in the Olympic Village, as well as for a major medical precinct just north of it, including a Recovery Centre.
- Istanbul 2020 will halve the standard transition time between Games phases at the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
- The combined sponsorship agreement is the largest private sector investment in any sports bid in Turkey’s history.
- Turkey, though formally a secular state, would be the first Muslim country to host the Games.
At $19.2 billion, Istanbul’s projected infrastructure budget for the Olympics is ten times that of Madrid, which is planning to spend $1.9 billion and higher than Tokyo, whose figure is $4.9 billion.
