The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission (EC) arrived in Istanbul Friday evening to prepare for a four-day inspection of the city starting Sunday. The Turkish city, along with Tokyo, Japan and Madrid, Spain are in the running to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
EC Chair Sir Craig Reedie, along with his team of 14 including IOC members, staff and technical experts landed at Ataturk International Airport after travelling from Madrid where they had just completed the Spanish city’s evaluation. The team visited Tokyo earlier this month.
During the time in Istanbul, the EC team will review the contents of the bid dossiers submitted to the IOC in January and they will tour existing venues and the sites of proposed venues. Meetings will take place at Istanbul’s Four Seasons Hotel.
The results of the inspection will be published in a report to be distributed to IOC members in June who will vote for the winner September 7 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
What To Look For
Istanbul plans to spend over $19 billion in capital and organization costs in order to prepare for the Games – the IOC will likely be looking for further details of where these funds will be spent and how the investment will be guaranteed and risk mitigated.
Traffic has been a concern surrounding Istanbul’s bid – will athletes, officials, fans and the IOC family be able to travel between venues without stress at Games time? The IOC will have a chance to see the traffic first-hand and review plans to improve the infrastructure.
The IOC will likely release the results of a recent poll taken to determine public support for the bid. These numbers will be reviewed and the IOC will be able to take in the general enthusiasm for sport and the Games around the city.