Istanbul 2020 Bid Inspired by Moscow Legacy

Istanbul 2020 Chairman, Hasan Arat, has spoken of his admiration for Moscow’s Luzhniki Olympic Complex, which is hosting the IAAF World Championships, and promised that the Istanbul 2020 Olympic Park would deliver the same long-lasting impact to the local community.

The Luzkniki Olympic Complex was the main sports hub of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, today it still hosts football, volleyball, athletics and ice hockey. It also offers community sports facilities. The Complex’s centrepiece. the Luzhniki Stadium, will host the 2018 World Cup Final.

Arat said: “Just from spending a few days here, I can see that the Luzhniki Olympic Complex is at the centre of a vibrant sports community. On Sunday afternoon, you could see hundreds of people playing volleyball or tennis, riding bikes and enjoying the facilities. Then on Sunday evening, you could watch Usain Bolt win the World 100 metres title. That combination of elite and community sport is what we will deliver with the Istanbul 2020 Olympic Park.

“Our Olympic Park will be the beating heart of a brand new ‘live-work-play’ community of 600,000 people. It will attract World Championships and World Cups because the arenas we build will be state-of-the-art, but just as importantly it will provide low- and no-cost sports facilities for the people of Istanbul. The Istanbul 2020 Olympic Park will transform sport in Turkey from grass-roots to elite level.”

Istanbul’s bid to host the 2020 Games features 11 sporting venues in the Olympic City Cluster. Of these 11 venues, eight newly-built permament venues and one upgraded venue will become multi-use stadiums, community sports clubs and leisure centre after the Games, and Olympic training centres, for high performance and community sport and Para-sport.

The Olympic and Paralympic Village, in addition to the Media Village, will be used for 8000 affordable apartments. Post-Games, the International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre will be repurposed as a commercial centre.