The circle is complete. After Tokyo, then Madrid, the IOC evaluation commission for the 2020 Games set down its bags and its expert eyes in Istanbul. A four-day visit, which began last Sunday, ended this Wednesday, March 27. In Japan, Olympic envoys said they were “very impressed. » In Spain, they assured that the Games, if granted to Madrid, would be “viable” despite the crisis shaking the country. In Turkey, Sir Craig Reedie, the chairman of the evaluation commission, insisted on the “excellent impression” left by Istanbul’s application.

Faced with such caution in speeches, it would be very smart who could venture to designate a winner. The three candidate cities had carefully prepared their passing exam. They were received brilliantly. We expected it. The opposite would have been surprising.

Designated to be visited last, Istanbul seduced. We expected it too. The Turkish capital is in its fifth candidacy. “This time, we are going there to win,” its leaders have been repeating for many months. Economic indicators speak in its favor, with a growth rate that would make the Spaniards pale. Its population is young and its infrastructure partially built. His political support proves to be flawless, as evidenced by the presence of the Head of State, Abdullah Gül, at the arrival of the IOC troop in Turkey, then that of the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during the official dinner at the evening of the second day.

During the four-day visit of the evaluation commission, the Istanbul 2020 team explained that traffic problems, common in the capital, would be partially resolved around the time of the Games. She assured that athletes and spectators would benefit from luxurious and affordable accommodation conditions, thanks to a hotel capacity of more than 100 rooms in 000, approximately three times the Olympic needs. Finally, Turkey promised that in the event of victory, the time between the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, often between 2020 and 7 days, would be reduced to just 10 days.

Certainly, the estimated budget for the Games in Istanbul, estimated at just under 15 billion euros, is by far the highest of the three candidate cities. An excess of spending which could work against the Turkish file, the IOC showing itself more and more reluctant to see a city and a country empty their coffers to finance the Games. But Gilbert Felli, the executive director of the Olympic institution, himself mitigated this handicap on Wednesday at a press conference, explaining that he was well aware that these investments would be made by Turkey, Olympic Games or not.

Were the Turks able to convince? Certainly. But before them, the Japanese and Spaniards had also achieved it. Istanbul can look forward to what comes next. And hope that the originality of its concept, of the Summer Games straddling two continents, manages to attract a majority of the IOC members.