Istanbul bids to host 2020 Olympics

Istanbul officially declared its bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announces Istanbul’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games, adding that government will legislate special laws dedicated to Olympic Games to speed up the investments and tenders.

“We are here today to declare to the world our candidacy for the 2020 Olympic Games, which we consider extremely important for our country and people,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in his televised remarks.

“We are bidding because we deem the sporting values and the Olympic spirit that have made a great contribution in establishing peace in the world as extremely important,” Erdogan said.

With its rapidly growing economy, strength in overcoming the global economic crisis and ongoing investments in sports facilities and international organizations, Turkey is an ideal candidate to host the summer Games, he added.

Turkey has failed in four previous bids to host the Games. It bid for the first time in 2000 and skipped the application for the 2016 Summer Games.

Istanbul joins Rome, Madrid and Tokyo who have already announced bids. Another potential candidate is Doha, Qatar. South Africa announced it would not bid, but has indicated that it could still reverse its decision.

Potential hosts have until Sept. 1 to announce their bids. The IOC will name the winner on Sept. 7, 2013 in Buenos Aires.

Author: istanbul

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