IOC vice President Craig Reedie said he was “greatly impressed” by Madrid after he and his team spent four days in the Spanish capital evaluating the city’s potential as host of the 2020 Olympic Games, and added that he think this bid is superior to the two that failed for 2012 and 2016.
“I think what happens in every bidding context is that the cities just get better and better and better,” Reedie said at a conference. “People have seen the experience of Games in different parts of the world and I don’t think there is any doubt that this candidature has learned from that.”
The evaluation commission visited possible venues, of which Spain says roughly eighty percent are already standing, and discussed the country’s budget for the games amid a struggling economy and record unemployment numbers.
“We have had a very clear statement from the bid committee,” Reedie said. “They believe the Spanish economy has suffered a very difficult time but that it has stabilized and it will improve…
“We are grateful for their honesty and openness.”
Despite the financial issues, Spanish citizens have offered their overwhelming support to the possibility of hosting the Olympics, as a recent poll shows that ninety percent of citizens 35-and-under believe that the Games would actually help boost the current economic situation.
