A major event occurred late Saturday afternoon in Buenos Aires. A favorite has won the race to host the Summer Olympics. The honor goes to Tokyo, capital of Japan. The Asian file led the way. According to certain sources close to the Olympic organization, he had been in the lead for twelve months, perhaps more. The IOC chose it in the 2nd round of voting, preferring it to Istanbul by a large majority (60 votes to 36). Proof that the status of favorite is no longer a curse in the world of the IOC, as one might think with the defeats of Paris for the 2012 Games, then of Chicago for those of 2016.
Tokyo's victory is therefore anything but a surprise. But it came at the end of an eventful day in Buenos Aires. In the first round of voting, Tokyo took the lead, but the IOC discovered by counting the votes that the other two candidates, Istanbul and Madrid, had received the same number of votes. A second ballot was organized to decide between the two European rivals. It was fatal in Madrid, with Istanbul securing 49 votes out of the 94 votes cast. The Spanish capital left the field before the two-man fight. She would be competing for the third time in a row. And believed, this time, to hold the right end, convinced that its “low cost” Games option would appeal to an IOC concerned by the gigantism of the event.
Tokyo or Istanbul? Istanbul or Tokyo? With the vision of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in a new territory, Turkey, shared between Europe and Asia, the IOC preferred a more classic, even traditional, option. ‘The safest Games,’ the Japanese had been repeating for weeks. An approach that proved to be a winner.
Tokyo will host the Games of the 32nd Olympiad, 56 years after having organized them for the first time. In the meantime, Japan had hosted the Winter Games twice, in 1972 in Sapporo, then in 1998 in Nagano. As in 1964, the “gift” made by the IOC to the Asian capital looks like a message of hope for Japan. In 1964, the Games helped the country recover from the Second World War. This time, they could help turn the page on Fukushima, the most terrible natural disaster the archipelago has ever experienced.
The 2020 Games will be “in good hands”, assured Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, during his presentation speech, a few hours before the vote. Its sites will be grouped into two zones, at a maximum distance of 8 km from the Olympic Village. Its transport network, its technological equipment, the public's passion for sport and the solidity of the Japanese economy do not inspire any concern. The IOC has chosen the path of wisdom.