Fourteen IOC officials are starting their three city tour this week, which will take them from Tokyo to Madrid to Istanbul as they evaluate each city vying to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
The evaluation committee, headed by IOC Vice President Craig Reedie of Britain, will assess each potential host, meet with city and Olympic officials, and inspect possible issues with finances, accommodations, transportation, and security before they create reports they’ll submit to all the IOC members before a vote on September 7.
“The interesting thing about this one is that all three have been candidates before on a number of occasions,” Reedie explained to the AP on Thursday. Istanbul is back for its fifth bid, Madrid is on its third bid in a row, and Tokyo, which hosted in 1964, is bidding for a second consecutive time.
Given the current world economic climate, finances are likely to play a big role in determining which country is best suited to host the Games. Istanbul brings a $19.2 billion budget towards necessary infrastructure, but has a lot to build. While Tokyo has only $4.9 billion budgeted, and Madrid, which is in a deep recession and has a 25 percent unemployment rate, has just $1.9 billion set aside.
Reedie added that the visit by the evaluation committee is often the most important part of the bidding process, and was paramount in the IOC’s decision to award London its third Olympics in 2012.
“It was a seminal moment in terms of encouraging a slightly skeptical British media that this was serious and this was good. If we can do that in Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul, we serve the Olympic movement and the ambitions of these cities.”
