by Larry Eder
Tokyo Marathon 2012 start, photo by PhotoRun.net
On Saturday, September 7, in Buenos Aires, Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics. Several things were curious about this vote.
The support was overwhelming, and required only two votes. In the first vote, Istanbul and Madrid tied for second at 26 votes each. Madrid, which had bid for the Olympics three straight times, lost in the tie breaking vote. Istanbul’s team then erupted in cheering, thinking that they had won the Olympics.
Au contraire.
Tokyo 2020 would be the winner, with a vote of 60 in support of Tokyo and 36 in support of Istanbul.
This gives some small indication of how strong the Tokyo bid actually was. That the Japanese Prime Minister, who took on the Fukushima crisis head on, was noted as key to the Japanese success, should be noted. While the Turkish PM and Spanish PM were there, it was Japan’s head on response to the atomic energy issues in Japan that seemed to influence the vote.
Japan is the first Asian city to host the Olympics twice now. The athletics events will be held on the site of the 1964 Olympic stadium. The celebrations in Tokyo, as shown on BBC, were loud and ecstatic.
To me, in the current global economic situations, hosting an Olympic Games continues to be an economic challenge. Tokyo’s team, including the former chairman of the Mizuno corporation, had spent the last 24 months developing their bid, positioning Tokyo and then, with the crisis at Fukushima, battled back into the top position for 2020.
This was a battle worthy of Olympic gods.
In a tweet just after the awarding of the 2020 Olympics, the Tokyo 2020 committee showed class and professionalism by noting the quality of both Istanbul’s 2020 and Madrid’s 2020 campaigns.
Istanbul was hurt by the continued protests in the city, which actually were going on in Istanbul, as seen on europa tv.com as the vote was going on. Madrid’s 2020 pre celebration ended in Madrid as the word went out that they were out in the first round of voting, which, many consider a slap in the face. There will be much recrimination in Madrid over the 2020 bid.
More information to come.
Most of the above information was gleaned from BBC.com, www.insidethegames.biz and coverage in Ft.com, Wallstreetjournal.com and NewYorkTimes.com, as well as conversations with keen observers of the events. Thanks to all those involved.
Tokyo wins 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, from insudethegames.biz,http://m.insidethegames.biz/olympics/summer-olympics/2020/1015904-tokyo-awarded-2020-olympics-and-paralympics, #tokyo2020
