AFP reports Tokyo is confident that “subdued” public support will not affect its bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
According to AFP, public support is reported to be the lowest among the four candidate cites which include Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.
Ichiro Kono, head of Tokyo 2016, said poll results don’t tell the whole story. “We’ll have to clearly show evidence of how the (public) enthusiasm is building up in many ways. The quantity and content of press reports in Japan are certain to touch the IOC and I will solicit your understanding on this”.
Polls show public support for Tokyo’s bid among its citizens was 56 per cent. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) conducted the polls in all four cities in February.
Last week Tokyo announced 69.7 per cent of its citizens showed support for the bid in a 3,000 person Internet survey, reports AFP. A separate 1,000-person telephone poll showed 73.5 per cent support.
Madrid’s bid committee announced that 85 per cent of its citizens want the Games while Chicago’s public support was 67 per cent, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Although Rio’s rate has not yet been reported, when it filed its bid with the IOC last February the city said the bid had 82 per cent support from its citizens.
Kono said London had struggled against a relatively low support rate months before it won the 2012 Summer Games bid. He added, “but media reports and positive issues about their bid increased in the final phase. This was said to have considerably touched the IOC and I think it may be true”.
