Istanbul, Madrid & Tokyo Submit Official Bids for 2020 Olympics

The race to host the 2020 Summer Olympics will now intensify after Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo officially submitted their bids to be the host city for the 2020 summer Olympics.

The three cities handed over their files to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne on Monday – exactly eight months before the vote which will decide who wins.

The books run to several hundred pages and represent the cities’ master plan of venues, budgets, financial guarantees, security, accommodation and other key aspects of the projects.

The files are to be released publicly by the bid cities on Tuesday.

Tsunekazu Takeda, IOC Member and President of both the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) and Tokyo 2020, said: “With tremendous support from people in Tokyo and across Japan, we have celebrated a memorable milestone today with the submission of our Candidature File. Based on lessons from our bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we have retained the best of that bid plan while adding important new strengths. Now that our Candidature File is complete, Tokyo is one step closer to implementing an innovative and inspiring Games plan. The Games in 2020 in Tokyo will offer athletes, spectators and Olympic and Paralympic Family members a true once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Hasan Arat, leader of the Istanbul 2020 Bid Committee, said: “We are delighted to be here in the Olympic capital with this group of unified stakeholders to share our vision with the IOC. This milestone is the latest step in our 20-year journey to win the honour of hosting the Games. For the very first time, our desire to host the Games is matched by our capacity. We have been learning and evolving every step of the way, and today we are submitting a brand new and dramatically enhanced Games concept. Istanbul 2020 has a technically outstanding master plan and delivery structure, and we would grab the world’s attention with a breathtaking setting and a series of groundbreaking firsts, such as being the first ever Games held in two continents simultaneously. Now is the time for Istanbul; now we are ready to deliver.”

The IOC’s evaluation commission, headed by Craig Reedie of Britain, will visit the cities in March and prepare a report for IOC members in June.

The full IOC will select the host city in a secret ballot in Buenos Aires on 7 September.

The 2020 field initially included six candidates, but Rome dropped out when the Italian government refused to offer financial support and the IOC cut Doha, Qatar and Azerbaijan’s capital Baku from the list last year.