Hiroshima Officially Drop 2020 Olympics Candidacy
June 13, 2011
Hiroshima formally ended its flirtation with hosting the 2020 Olympics on Monday when Mayor Kazumi Matsui told the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) the city could not afford to bid.
Matsui told JOC president Tsunekazu Takeda that Hiroshima had debts still outstanding from staging the 1994 Asian Games which it was struggling to pay off.
“The city is still continuing to repay loans from the Hiroshima Asian Games in 1994 and we are still face financial difficulties,” Matsui told reporters.
“In fact we were unable to find evidence of any proper bid timetable (under former Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba).”
Hiroshima initially proposed a joint “peace bid” with Nagasaki in a move by the only cities to have suffered an atomic attack to promote nuclear disarmament.
Nagasaki abandoned its 2020 Olympic ambitions last January, however, citing financial difficulties.
Matsui decided to formally pull the plug on Hiroshima’s already flagging bid after being elected in April.
“It’s a shame that (Hiroshima) has pulled out but it’s unavoidable,” said Takeda. “We accept the decision.”
Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara reiterated his hopes Japan’s capital can rebound from the disappointment of losing out in 2016 with a successful bid for 2020.
“It’s better not to extinguish the torch,” he said.
Tokyo were beaten by Rio de Janeiro in the race to stage the 2016 Olympics, but look favourites to become Japan’s bid city once again if the JOC throws its hat into the ring.
Japan’s plans for a 2020 bid had been thrown into chaos following the deadly earthquake and tsunami in March but the JOC told Reuters recently of efforts to table a bid.
Candidate cities must submit bids to the International Olympic Committee by Sept. 1. The host city will be selected in September 2013. London hosts the next Olympics.
The Japanese city of Hiroshima formally ended its flirtation with hosting the 2020 Olympics today, June 13, when Mayor Kazumi Matsui told the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) the city could not afford to bid.
Matsui told JOC president Tsunekazu Takeda that Hiroshima had debts still outstanding from staging the 1994 Asian Games which it was struggling to pay off, telling reporters: “The city is still continuing to repay loans from the Hiroshima Asian Games in 1994 and we are still face financial difficulties.
“In fact we were unable to find evidence of any proper bid timetable (under former Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba).”
Hiroshima initially proposed a joint “peace bid” with Nagasaki in a move by the only cities to have suffered an atomic attack to promote nuclear disarmament before Nagasaki abandoned its ambitions in January, citing financial difficulties.
JOC president Takeda added: “It’s a shame that (Hiroshima) has pulled out but it’s unavoidable. We accept the decision.”
Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara reiterated his hopes Japan’s capital can rebound from the disappointment of losing out in 2016 with a successful bid for 2020, adding: “It’s better not to extinguish the torch.”
Meanwhile, the Australian city of Hobart has dropped its initial plans to bid for the Games after it received little support from the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) or the Tasmanian Government.
It could now be set to launch a bid for the 2022 Summer Youth Olympics, if plans proposed by the Hobart Organising Group for Major Events (HOGME) are given the go-ahead.
Candidate cities must submit bids to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by September 1 before the host city being selected in September 2013.
