Madrid 2020 presented its official logo in its bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games at the Auditorio Alfredo Goyeneche, headquarters of the Spanish Olympic Committee.
The logo – a colourful Puerta de Alcala with the tones of the five Olympic rings – was presented in a ceremony presided by the Mayor of Madrid, Ana Botella, and the President of Madrid 2020 and the Spanish Olympic Committee, Alejandro Blanco.
The logo was designed by Luis Zaragoza, a student at the Fine Arts Peiret.
It represents the Puerta de Alcala, with a dynamic line that symbolizes the passion for sport for Madrid and the Spanish and has five “doors” moving in the five Olympic rings.
Also promised for release today is the Website for the bid that will be located at www.madrid2020.es – but at press time it only displays the message “under construction”.
The bid, and the logo have caught the imagination of many across Spain and the hashtag #madrid20020 on Twitter has become a trending topic on the popular social media platform. To clarify, #madrid20020 with three zeros is not a typographical error – it’s an allusion to the look of the new logo that appears to show “20020” in script as part of the graphic representation of the Peurto de Alcala. According to reports, the designer of the logo intended the script to show “M20” but when officials modified the logo they trimmed the bottom of the script, causing the visual confusion.
Reviews of the logo on Twitter are mixed with many of the negative comments referencing the “20020”. You can read more discussion about the logo here in our forums.
Spanish Olympic Committee president Alejandro Blanco told reporters that Madrid is ready to host because it wants and needs the Games in 2020. He said that 75% in Madrid and 84% in the rest of Spain support the bid while 91% think the Games will create new jobs.
A document which has been presented to the Madrid’s mayor and supported by the Spanish government will be included in the candidate questionnaire responses and will be delivered to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne Switzerland before the February 15 deadline.
Competitors Tokyo and Baku in Azerbaijan have already branded their bid while Doha in Qatar will release a logo on February 10; Rome and Istanbul have yet to announce their plans.
