Reuters reports that according to officials the rapid evacuation of about 70,000 spectators from Real Madrid’s soccer stadium after a bomb scare could boost the city’s Olympic bid by showing it is able to deal with difficult security situations.
Secretary of State for Sports Jaime Lissavetzky was quoted as saying in sports daily Marco, “if it affects Madrid at all it will be in a positive way because it shows that the city is prepared to deal with a risky situation”.
It took just ten minutes to evacuate the stadium and there was no explosion.
Marco quoted Feliciano Mayoral, head of Madrid 2012 as saying, “the public displayed great maturity in the face of a dangerous situation. Under adverse conditions we grow. It is something that could happen in any city and it would be petty for someone to take advantage and use it against Madrid”.
Mayoral believes the fans’ behaviour only served to demonstrate Madrid’s readiness for any such threat.
