As July approaches, the eyes of the sporting world will be firmly focussed on the 2012 Olympic Games in London and 39 disciplines spread over 26 sports. With Rio de Janeiro the first South American Olympic host city to follow in 2016, discussions relating to the host of 2020 may be seen as premature.
But with the billions of dollars to be spent in the next eight years before a single race is run or shot putted, six cities from around the globe have officially entered bids to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for consideration for 2020.
Official acceptance of the six bids will be made in May when the campaign war begins in earnest when the final decision is made in September 2013.
But no one will be sitting on their laurels between now and that final decision date: chances are we’ll hear more about the six 2020 cities post-London than Rio until the choice is made.
The six are a mix of new and old candidates – Rome, Madrid, Istanbul, Baku, Doha and Tokyo. The bookmakers immediately installed Tokyo as favourite, closely followed by the two European capitals.
Tokyo
In 1964, the Japanese capital became the first Asian city to host the Summer Olympics. Tokyo had been due to hold the games in 1940, but the event was cancelled due to the Second World War. They also made several unsuccessful bids, including 1960 (lost to Rome) and 2016 (lost to Rio).
Japan has also hosted, on two occasions, the Winter Olympics – Sapporo in 1972 and Nagano in 1998.
Installed as the bookmakers’ favourite is not always a good thing – Chicago was resoundingly beaten in the 2016 race and Paris lost out to London.
The IOC likes to see the Olympics move around the globe and a 2020 Asia destination would certainly tick the right boxes. Tokyo also has the infrastructure along with the financial and political stability. They have also scaled down the costs of their 2016 bid, with more emphasis on renovation of existing facilities rather than building new.
But against the Japanese bid is the decision to hold the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang in South Korea and, always an issue, geography and time zones for the mass television markets of Europe and the US.
Madrid
Spain has hosted the Olympics on only one occasion - Barcelona in 1992. That certainly rankles with the Spanish capital and the city has made unsuccessful bids for hosting the 2012 and 2016 Games (they also lost to Munich in 1972).
Losing on both occasions was a bitter pill to swallow – the city led on both occasions after the first round of voting. Madrid is hoping to make it third time lucky in 2020 – and it certainly has a large sympathy vote behind it.
Geography is both positive and negative news. A return to Europe so soon after London could be sending the wrong message. But with no bids from North America, a Spanish host would certainly sate television and other commercial interests.
Rome
Geography also affects the Eternal City in a similar way to Madrid. But Rome’s bid is weakened by the poor support from the Italian government.
Italy has hosted the Summer Olympics on one previous occasion, Rome 1960, but has welcomed the Winter Olympics in 1956 (Cortina d’Ampezzo) and 2006 (Turin).
Istanbul
Straddling the Bospherous, Istanbul has a foot in both Europe and Asia. And it has strong support in the sporting world, hosting a number of major athletic competitions and narrowly (and controversially) losing out to France in the bid to host UEFA Euro 2016.
Istanbul has bid to host the Summer Olympics on every occasion since 2000. It certainly has the emotive vote added with more than a touch of the exotic. But concerns about infrastructure and a volatile local political scene have constantly worked against the city.
Doha
The most lucrative bid has to be from the city due to host the soccer World Cup in 2022. It is certainly an attractive option from the oil-rich Arab state of Qatar. And in looking to hold the Olympics in the Middle East, the stable Gulf states are an attractive option.
But FIFA faced enormous controversy in selecting Doha for the World Cup – a state of little more than one million people and a questionable human rights record.
Baku
The dark horse bid and a romantic favourite for many. Emerging from the old Soviet Union, the state of Azerbaijan and its capital, Baku, is establishing itself as an event destination, including numerous global sporting activities.
In its regeneration and investment for the future, the city is already building a 65,000 seat Olympic stadium as well as an Olympic complex, including swimming facilities of a world standard.
With the support of Russia, with whom Azerbaijan shares a border, and the appointment of Bob Elphinstone, regarded as the mastermind behind Sydney 2000’s unexpected successful bid, as one their expert advisors, the Asian city of Baku is seen as a strong challenge.
The world could well see a surprise in the announcement of the 2020 Olympics, but at this stage in the game, there is no clear cut winner.
Sources
- Six cities bid for 2020 Olympics, ABC News
- www.gamesbid.com
- Dubai to host 2020 Olympics?, Timon Singh, MENA Infrastructure
Keith Lawrence - Published writer of articles in magazines, newspapers and websites, predominantly on culture, alongside ghostwriter/editor/copywriter.
