Istanbul 2020 Team Emphasise Bid Strengths at SportAccord

During a presentation at SportAccord2013, 100 days ahead of the International Olympic Committee name the host of the 2020 Olympics, the Istanbul 2020 team emphasised the bid’s guarantee of a risk-free, technically excellent Games and its potential to transform the nation.

Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports, Suat Kılıç, said: “As the representative of our Prime Minister and the government, I can assure you that hosting the Games in 2020 is a key part of a broad strategic agenda for Turkey. Turkey has totally transformed since its last bid. We now really understand what it means to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We are ready to step onto the global stage and welcome the world as we have for millennia. But now, to a new Turkey.

“Our commitment to successful sport, to successful Games, is embedded in our Olympic Law which mandates full government support and already establishes our Games delivery structure. Enacted in 1992, this legislation guarantees the success of the Games. Not just words on paper, but a solid foundation that is backed by our government 100 percent.”

Hasan Arat, Chairman of Istanbul 2020, added: “In the past, Turkey bid for the Games as an emerging nation. This time, Turkey is bidding as an emerged nation. We have aligned the needs of Istanbul with the needs of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Our city needs more transportation infrastructure, and we are building it. Our urban population needs more sports facilities, and we are developing them. Our young people need more role models, and the Games offer them.

“Today, ambition meets capacity in Istanbul. By bringing the Olympic and Paralympic Games to Istanbul in 2020, the Olympic Movement will open a gateway – not just to a new region, but to a new culture. Istanbul offers a bridge to bring the world’s humanity together.”