The three candidate cities for the 2020 Summer Games traveled to Lausanne last weekend for the General Assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). Each was called on stage, Saturday June 15, for a very formal presentation. In attendance were representatives from more than 200 countries. And among them, naturally, several members of the IOC, including Jacques Rogge, the president.
As tradition dictates, few comments filtered through these three presentations. By all accounts, Tokyo left a solid impression of know-how and experience. The Japanese are progressing in the art of selling their candidacy. They put the athletes forward and promise compact, safe and rigorous Games. Classic but reassuring. Their rating remains high. Above all, it turns out to be quite stable.
A moment judged out of the race, Madrid is climbing back up the slope. His candidacy team is redoubling its efforts to convince voters to forget Spain's current economic problems. She is also advancing her pawns on the thorny issue of doping, by brandishing the new anti-doping law passed by the Spanish Parliament. Not easy. But it is rumored, behind the scenes, that Madrid's rating would rise quite spectacularly among the members of the IOC. To have.
For Istanbul, the situation turns out to be complex. On Saturday, in Lausanne, its candidacy committee dared to make some allusions to the protests shaking the country. With this objective: to convince the audience that the capital would only be “an even better host city in 2020”. Ugur Erdener, President of the Turkish Olympic Committee, assured in his speech: “The path to a democratic nation is not always easy, but it is a fair path. »
At the IOC, several voices were raised recently to explain that today's protests would have no impact on the vote in September 2013, voters knowing from experience that the difficulties of the moment will be forgotten at the time of the Games, in seven long years. But a member of the Olympic institution told AFP on condition of anonymity: “When we see the dissatisfaction of residents with the construction of a shopping center, then we can imagine what the protests could be if Istanbul won the Games, and what would happen when work began. »
A feeling that Istanbul 2020 boss Hasan Arat commented on during a press briefing in Lausanne: “It’s like a marathon and you have to play the game until the end. You may have ups and downs. But the most important thing is that we are who we are. Nothing has changed for us. We are a young and dynamic country. »
An informed observer of these Olympic games, the American Michael Payne, former marketing director of the IOC, now a consultant, analyzes this three-player chess game as follows: “Each candidacy is a rollercoaster. It's all about balance. How the Turkish government deals with the protests remains key to Istanbul's chances. Ten years ago you probably wouldn't have seen anything like this, it's a sign that the country is moving towards a democracy. »
Where is Istanbul’s rating today? The ways of the IOC have always been impenetrable. Difficult to decide, especially more than two months before the vote of its General Assembly. And it is not certain that the submission of the report of the evaluation committee on the three candidate cities, scheduled for June 25, will provide more answers.
