Booming Turkey fully supports charming Istanbul in hosting 2020 Olympics

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Booming Turkey fully supports charming Istanbul in hosting 2020 Olympics

(Xinhua) 20:58, September 02, 2013

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Having failed four times in the past, Turkey is betting on its booming economy and the charm of Istanbul to try to win the bid for hosting the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

Istanbul, Turkey's largest city that sits at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, vies with Tokyo and Madrid to host the games. The winner will be decided in the upcoming session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

"Istanbul is the front-runner in the game and favorite of all the three competing candidate cities," a government official who is closely involved with the Olympic campaign, told Xinhua.

"The critical phase is which city will be left over standing for the second round in the voting," the same official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity, because of the strict rules involving lobbying at the IOC.

"If Madrid loses out to Tokyo in the first round, Turkey believes it will have a good chance of winning the race because all Latin American votes that supports Madrid will likely go to Turkey," he explained.

Ankara announced major infrastructure projects worth 19.2 billion U.S. dollar budget to develop Istanbul, not all of it related with the Olympic candidacy. The government completed tender process for building Istanbul's third airport worth nine billion U.S. dollars.

The figure also includes a 6-billion-dollar project to build a tunnel connecting Asian side of the city with European one. The budget for the Olympic Games is set for some 3 billion dollars.

"There is no excitement in city of Madrid for the 2020 Olympic Games. There are groups protesting the IOC team. The worry is that games would bring extra burden to already ailing Spanish economy," Ibrahim Ekiz, sport writer said.

He also said time differences with Tokyo and heavy congested traffic there would make Istanbul better candidate.

Despite the charm campaign, the Istanbul candidacy faced challenges in recent months. In June, anti-government protests that grew out of small environmental sit-in has damaged Turkey's image following violent crackdown on protestors.

The government downplayed significance of the event, saying that protests can happen in any democratic country. "Despite these recent events, all sections of Turkey remain united in our dream to host our nation's first-ever Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020," Istanbul 2020 backers said in June when protests engulfed major cities in Turkey.

"Turkey has never come this close to hosting Olympic Games," Mahmut Ovur, columnist at Sabah daily said. "I hope this chance would not be overshadowed by domestic problems and conjectural changes in the region," he added.

"Istanbul needs Olympic Games as the region and the world need a peace," Ovur noted.

If Istanbul wins, Turkey will also be the first predominantly Muslim country to host the games.

"Sept. 7, 2013 remains a historical milestone not only for the history of Turkish sports but also for the world," Ergin Hava, a blogger, said referring to the IOC meeting on Saturday.

The country also boasts a young population, for which campaigners say would be significant confirmation of Olympic spirit of youth engagement.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and several ministers with huge delegation are expected to make an appearance in Buenos Aires to lobby for Istanbul's candidacy in the final hours. Erdogan will fly to Argentina from St. Petersburg where he would be attending the G-20 meeting.

The lack of spectator performance in U-20 World Cup that was hosted in Turkey recently may have chipped away some of Istanbul's charm while successful Mediterranean Games in the city of Mersin boosted Istanbul's chances.

The worsening Syrian crisis in Turkey's southern border raised fears while recent doping scandals involving dozens of Turkish athletes did not help Istanbul case either.

Ankara said it is serious on cracking down on doping with zero tolerance policy while arguing that the Syrian border is thousands of kilometers away from Istanbul and that the games will be hosted seven years from now.

Sport Minister Suat Kilic noted that Turkey has done everything required to help Istanbul win the bid.