Olympians facing election dilemma for 2020 Games

The International Olympic Committee faces one of its toughest votes when it picks the host city for the 2020 Games, although candidates appear to have the easiest path in three decades to land the world’s biggest sports event.

The September 7 ballot at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires will be between Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo. All three candidates have certain deficits which makes the election process so difficult for the Olympians.

The last time it was pretty easy to win the Games was in 1981, when the IOC had the choice between the South Korean capital of Seoul and Japan’s Nagoya for the 1988 edition - with Seoul handily winning.

Ever since, a large number of cities, including some of the world’s most famous, have been vying for prestigious Games.

London for instance beat Paris to host the 2012 Games, with Moscow, New York and Madrid the other candidates. The Spanish capital then also lost out to Rio de Janeiro for 2016, after Chicago went out in the first round of voting despite the presence of US President Barack Obama.

The September vote appears low-key, by contrast, with Doha and Baku already eliminated earlier, and Rome withdrawing because of the difficult domestic economical situation.

Madrid faces the same problems as Rome, and Olympians could be fearing that the Spaniards have to withdraw as well, but bid chief Alejandro Blanco sees Olympics as a chance rather than a risk.

“We wish to host the Games more than ever before. They are a huge investment programme which creates jobs and strengthens the economy,” he said.

Japan also has a stimulating effect in mind in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami from March 2011 in which almost 20,000 people lost their lives and the meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant added a new and frightening dimension to the natural disaster.

Tokyo aims to stage the Games a second time, following 1964, and bid chief Tsunekatsu Takeda said Olympics can help the nation overcome the trauma from two years ago.

Earthquakes are also a risk factors in Istanbul’s bid, which apart from that has a lot in its favour.

The metropolis bridging Europe and Asia has gone through four unsuccessful bids, and is the economical centre of a country which has risen to 17th place in the global growth index.

However, the difficult traffic situation to cross the Bosphorus Straight between the continents has already prompted the IOC to suggest the construction of two athletes villages, one per continent.

Regardless of who finally prevails in the deciding vote, Olympians are bracing themselves for a period of difficult Games in the summer and winter side after the resounding success of past editions including Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and London 2012.

Next up are the first Winter Games in Russia at Sochi 2014, then the South American debut at Rio 2016, and the South Korean winter debut in Pyeongchang 2018.

As a result, the 2020 race will also indicate how well, or not, future Olympics can be sold - with all the billion dollar television and marketing deals which come with it.