There’s still three months until the IOC determines which city - Tokyo, Madrid, or Istanbul - will host the 2020 Olympics. But two anonymous IOC officials told the Japan Times that Tokyo has the bid nearly locked up. All its officials need to do is avoid any major mistakes before the vote.
Tokyo Governor and bid committee head Naoki Inose already made one such slip-up, demeaning both Madrid and Istanbul for their supposed inability to host the Games, and also mentioning the danger of the fighting in Islamic countries.
Inose quickly apologized for the statement he made to the New York Times, saying it was “unfair and disheartening” and did not comply with official IOC rules or the spirit of the values of the Olympic Movement, which allow a country to promote its own bid, but not at the expense of another city.
Tokyo’s new frontrunner status apparently came after the three potential hosts cities gave presentations to IOC members at the headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland over the weekend. And despite Istanbul’s Olympics leaders saying that recent protests will have no bearing on the September vote, another IOC member said that the protests have been a “big blow” to the Islamic country’s bid, which was once considered the favorite. Madrid’s financial woes seem to have all but knocked them out of the running.
