The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced their shortlist for the bidding cities to host the 2020 Olympics with Baku and Doha missing out.

Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul make up the final three as the IOC executive board settled on a shortlist of finalists.

Doha, capital of the Gulf state of Qatar, and Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, were rejected for a second time in a row after failing to make the final list for the 2016 Games.

Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul — all former bidders — now advance to the final phase, a 17-month race that will end with the IOC vote on Sept. 7, 2014, in Buenos Aires.

Madrid is bidding for a third consecutive time, Tokyo a second time in a row and Istanbul a fifth time overall.

Whether to keep all five candidates or cut the list to four or three was a tricky choice for the IOC at a time of global economic and political uncertainty. IOC officials said the decision involved a careful risk assessment.

The 15-member executive board, headed by IOC President Jacques Rogge, chose the finalists after examining a technical evaluation report compiled by a panel of Olympic experts.

Baku was always the outsider, seen as lacking in experience in hosting international sports events. The main question involved whether to accept Doha, and the latest IOC rejection is sure to stir acrimony in Qatar.

Qatar is already hosting the 2022 World Cup, but faced questions over the heat, the timing and other issues for the Olympics. The IOC agreed to let Doha bid based on Qatar’s proposal to hold the games from Oct. 2-18 to avoid the brutal summer heat, but officials remained concerned about the weather, conditions for athletes and potential conflicts with television and other sports events going on during that time of year.

IOC executive director Gilbert Felli said the October date was “not the only reason” Doha was dropped from the race.

The dynamics of the race changed dramatically when Rome, considered a potential 2020 favourite, pulled out of the bidding in February after the Italian government declined to provide financial guarantees at a time of economic austerity.

Madrid is bidding against the backdrop of Spain’s financial crisis, something the IOC said it would take into account.

Madrid bid leader Alejandro Blanco said the city would go the distance until the vote in Buenos Aires. He insisted the Spanish government fully backs the project and said the games would be a catalyst for economic recovery.

Tokyo, which hosted the 1964 Olympics, is bidding in the aftermath of last year’s earthquake and tsunami disaster.

The Istanbul bid had been knocked off course by Turkey’s concurrent bid for football’s 2020 European Championship. The IOC has made clear that Turkey cannot both hold both events, but Istanbul gained breathing room last week when UEFA extended the bidding process for the Euros and scheduled the final decision for early 2014.

Istanbul leaders assured the IOC that the Olympic bid was the No. 1 priority of the Turkish government.

Der Zeitpunkt für eine erneute deutsche Olympiabewerbung ist weiterhin offen. Der Beschluss der Mitgliederversammlung vom Dezember 2011 besteht noch, ambulance betonte DOSB-Präsident Bach in Berchtesgaden.

Während des Besuchs des Infotags bei der Eliteschule des Sports in Berchtesgaden betonte Bach auf Nachfrage zugleich, medicine dass es in Sachen einer deutschen Olympiabewerbung seit dem Beschluss der Mitgliederversammlung des DOSB im Dezember 2011 keinerlei neue Entwicklungen gebe.

“Wir wollen Olympische und Paralympische Spiele in Deutschland. Wir stehen für eine erneute Bewerbung bereit, wenn die Rahmenbedingungen stimmen und begründete Aussicht auf Erfolg besteht”, sagte Bach. Der DOSB hatte im Dezember 2011 beschlossen, zum “jetzigen Zeitpunkt” von einer Bewerbung für Winterspiele 2022 abzusehen. Zugleich sprach sich die Mitgliederversammlung aber grundsätzlich für eine weitere Olympiabewerbung aus. In welchem Jahr und ob für Sommer- oder Winterspiele, wurde offen gelassen. Seitdem gibt es “absolut nichts Neues zu diesem Thema”, so Bach.

Army Athletics have extended their partership with Learfield Sports through the 2018-19 season.

Army began its relationship with Learfield Sports in December 2005 for marketing and multimedia rights representation. The new term extends for five years, allergy with all aspects of the comprehensive rights agreement managed by Learfield’s local entity, viagra pharmacy Army Sports Properties, which works closely with Corrigan and the entire athletics administration on a daily basis.

“Army Sports Properties has been a tremendous partner,” said Army Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan. “We continue to experience growth in our multi-media rights and are excited to continue the relationship with Learfield, Greg Brown and his team.”

“Boo and his team do incredible work, and we’ve enjoyed being a part of history in the making helping elevate the Army brand and its successful athletic programs,” said Learfield President and CEO Greg Brown. “We’re pleased to renew our agreement and again have the opportunity to represent the Army Athletic Association. They’ve been an excellent partner, and we look forward to continue being a trusted partner to Boo and his administration in the years to come.”

In addition to Army, Learfield manages the individual multimedia rights for Patriot League member Bucknell, and has sole oversight of the marketing and sponsorship initiatives for the League itself.

doctor helvetica, sans-serif;”>Baku’s hopes of hosting the 2020 Olympic Games has received a boost after three of Azerbaijan’s largest companies signed up as official corporate supporters of the bid.

The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), Azerbaijan Airlines and Azercell, one of the country’s leading mobile operators have voiced their support.

This comes ahead of the executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) this coming week in Quebec, Canada, where a decision will be made on which candidate cities continue their quest to play host 2020.

Konul Nurullayeva, CEO of Baku 2020, was glad to have big businesses supporting the bid, having already convinced her fellow countrymen.

She said: “Our application file poll showed 95% support from the population of Azerbaijan – and more recently half a million Azerbaijanis signed a petition in support of the Baku 2020 bid.

“The bid also enjoys the complete support of all levels of government, as well as across all political parties. And now we also have the confirmed backing of the commercial sector of the country.”

Rovnaq Abdullayev, President of SOCAR, said: “The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan is the leading force for implementing the government’s strategy of using our hydrocarbon revenues to maximise the benefits for the development of the country and its people.

“The government of Azerbaijan has already done a lot to transform the country into a prosperous place in the region. Baku’s Bid to host the Olympic Games in 2020 provides us with a wonderful opportunity to accelerate this transformation by investing into development of world class sporting and tourism facilities, as well as promoting a healthy lifestyle for both young and old.”

Jahangir Asgerov, President of Azerbaijan Airlines, added: “As the nation’s flagship airline, we are actively promoting tourism in Azerbaijan. In 2011, the country received more than 2 million visitors, which is a record number.

“Baku’s location, between East and West, offers a unique blend of tradition and history combined with modernity. Azerbaijan Airlines is delighted to be a corporate supporter of the Baku 2020 Bid, which we very much hope will turn our beautiful capital city into one of the popular sporting and tourism destinations of the world.”

Ali Agan, CEO of Azercell Telecom said: “Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is the second fastest growing sector of the economy in Azerbaijan, after the oil industry. With more than 80% mobile penetration in our country, Azerbaijanis are obviously keen to adapt and use modern technologies.

“The people of Azerbaijan have one of the highest literacy rates in the world and are actively involved in sports. With the Baku 2020 Bid, we dream of hosting the first Olympic Games in Azerbaijan and Azercell as the largest mobile communications provider is delighted to support this dream.”

Baku is up against Doha, Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo and the IOC will decide whether to remove some of the candidates or allow all five to continue bidding, with the winner being selected on September 7 2013 at the IOC session in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Transport for London (TfL) have unveiled the travel hotspots for the Olympic Games this summer through their site, www.getaheadofthegames.com, with an expected 25% increase in journeys a day across London’s public transport.

More than 12 million journeys are made each day on London’s public transport network and it is expected that on the busiest days of the Games this summer that number will rise by 25% with up to three million more journeys being made per day. There will be 88 TfL 59 National Rail hotspot stations. 

Among the improvements to London’s transport system for the Olympics, the Jubilee Line, which serves the closest stop to the Olympic Park and stadium, Stratford, has been upgraded and will deliver “more frequent and reliable services”, while more than 200 extra buses will be in operation during the Games.

There will also be a “Javelin” train service between St Pancras and the Olympic Park, running eight to 10 trains per hour.

Travellers were also warned that the transport network is set to be busier in the second week of the Paralympics as this will be when schools start to reopen after the summer holidays. 

The Olympics run from the opening ceremony on July 27 through to the closing ceremony on August 12, while the Paralympics are held from the August 29 opening ceremony through to the closing event on September 9. 

The transport information covers the competition days between these dates. The transport measures being used to cope with demand on the days of the ceremonies will be released at a later date. 

London’s transport commissioner Peter Hendy said: “As the competition and events programme moves around we need to manage demand on the transport network, which will be very busy and at certain times and certain places will be much busier than usual.” 

The Tube and train stations at London Bridge, Bank and Waterloo will be “exceptionally busy” during the Games while Mile End station will also be busier than normal. They are key interchange stations and are set to be used by people travelling towards venues, events and the big screens to watch the action. Weymouth station will also be busy due to it’s proximity to the Olympic sailing event.

by Ismail Uddin

There is still a chance countries will be able to bid for Euro 2020 even though Tuesday’s deadline has passed, UEFA has announced.

Bids from Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland jointly, plus a solo bid from Georgia was made public yesterday while Turkey have declared an interest for a while.

UEFA said they will now launch a new process which will allow any of the 53 member associations to submit a bid. The European body only confirmed that “some national associations” had expressed their interest in bidding but did not reveal any names of countries involved.

“UEFA will now launch a formal process which will allow any of its 53 members associations to submit their candidature, irrespective of whether or not they declared a preliminary interest in hosting the 24-team competition,” said UEFA.

The bidding process will last approximately 18 months. A decision on the Euro 2020 hosts is expected at the beginning of 2014.

Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan has revealed that UEFA have put on record for the first time that they will consider bids for the European Championships from more than two countries as multiple tournament hosts.

Regan told Press Association Sport: “The only encouragement was in the letter from UEFA that came out to all the associations with the acknowledgement that bids from more than two countries would be considered – that was the first time that had been put on record.

“It’s now a case of deciding whether it’s a goer or not. So far this is just an expression of interest.”