Mystery all the way. Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo passed the grand oral exercise without incident, Wednesday July 3, in front of the 86 members present in Lausanne for the extraordinary session of the IOC. For each of the candidate cities for the 2020 Summer Games, the same format: 90 minutes, including a round of questions from the audience. In camera. And, in the end, an outcome that is still uncertain. As proof, this very cautious comment from the German Thomas Bach, also a candidate for the presidency of the IOC: “Whatever choice is made, it will be a great Games.” A prediction confirmed by another candidate for Jacques Rogge's seat, the Puerto Rican Richard Carrion: “The presentations were superb, it will be an interesting battle. »
Behind closed doors, nothing really filtered out from this triple promotional session. The three candidate teams responded with a conspiratorial air to questions from the media. Despite everything, a few confidences were dropped here and there. We learned that the IOC had not asked any questions in Istanbul concerning the delicate subject of security, although it is often pointed out as a weak point in the Turkish file. Good or bad sign? Who knows. Likewise, Madrid did not have to explain the economic credibility of its Olympic project, also a source of numerous doubts, the members of the Olympic institution not having questioned its representatives on this subject. Other info: the Spanish presentation did not finish the 90 minutes allotted to it.
The only certainty: Madrid is no longer the red lantern in this long three-way tie. The Spaniards had largely made up for their delay thanks to the visit of the evaluation commission last March. By all accounts, they even gained a few more points on Wednesday July 3, thanks to the quality of their presentation. “It was stunning,” said a European, quoted by AFP.
Dick Pound, the influential Canadian member of the IOC, confirms: “If there is any progress, it is in Madrid. Their presentation scored points. But it’s not decisive like last time, after the same day of presentation when we said to ourselves “Rio, um… it’s not bad!!! “That made a lot of difference, whereas today only a little. »
Cleverly, the Spaniards took advantage of the opportunity of this oral presentation before the IOC to bring down one of their trump cards: Felipe, the crown prince. A former Olympian, flag bearer for Spain at the Barcelona Games in 1992, where he participated in the sailing events. According to Dick Pound, he was “the star of the day. »
The Spanish capital has not yet declared victory. She would be wrong, as the game of alliances can ultimately confuse the issue. But Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., one of the project leaders, can puff out his chest by saying: “The promises we made in the past are reality today. »
Opposite, Tokyo continued on the same path, that of being a “safe bet”, but this time succeeded in giving its file a more human, even historical, scope. “Japan looked like it had been destroyed. With the Games, we will be able to show the rest of the world that we can bounce back and rebuild,” suggested Taro Aso, the Japanese Deputy Prime Minister.
Spared by questions about security and popular revolt movements, Istanbul was able to concentrate on the essential: its assets. Ali Babacan, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, repeated to journalists that Turkey's good economic health would allow it to invest 400 billion dollars in the next seven years, and that the majority of Olympic infrastructure would be ready well before 2020. Before to conclude: “It’s Turkey time. »
