Istanbul has joined the Italian capital of Rome, Madrid in Spain and Tokyo in Japan in bidding for the Games. The Qatari capital of Doha is also considering a bid by the September 1 deadline while Gideon Sam, the head of the South African Olympic Committee, is hoping the government will perform a u-turn on its original decision against backing a bid from Durban. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will vote on the winning bid on September 7, 2013 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“We are here today to declare to the world our candidacy for the 2020 Olympic Games, which we consider extremely important for our country and people,” Erdogan said. “We bid because we deem sporting values and Olympic spirit that have made a great contribution in establishing peace in the world to be extremely important.”
Turkey, which has never hosted the Games, has failed with four previous bids for the Olympics since 2000. However, Erdogan vowed to have the necessary transport infrastructure in place to stage an event that would be on an unprecedented scale for the country. “We can say that the infrastructure is ready and with regard to the other structures we can finish those investments quickly and easily,” Anatolia quoted him as saying. “Within two years we will eliminate all our problems about rail systems.”
In a statement, the bid team for the Istanbul 2020 Olympics highlighted Turkey’s relative financial strength in times of financial adversity. “In a time of global economic downturn, we maintain our position as one of the fastest growing economies throughout the world,” read the statement. “We will provide the strength, stability and secure foundation that is needed to guarantee and deliver the IOC institutional and operational requirements.”
Dr Ugur Erdener, president of the Turkish National Olympic Committee, said: “We are delighted that the whole country is rallying behind this remarkable event, and with support from the President of the Republic, our Prime Minister, all our government and our great nation, we fully believe that we are in line to become one of the strongest contenders for this bid.”
