Tokyo out front in 2020 Olys bid

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This article was published 26/06/2013 (4457 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LONDON — Less than three months before the IOC vote, Tokyo received the most praise Tuesday in a technical assessment of the three cities bidding for the 2020 Olympics.

The IOC evaluation report said Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid all offer “high quality” bids and present their own “unique approach” to hosting the Summer Games.

The report touched on the financial crisis in Spain, saying Madrid’s Olympic project was feasible despite the recession. The report was finalized in April and did not address the anti-government protests that have swept across Turkey recently and raised questions about Istanbul’s bid.

Overall, Tokyo received the most glowing marks from the report, which described the Japanese capital as “a modern, dynamic city that sets global trends” and praised its compact venue plans and “one of the most modern and efficient public transport systems in the world.”

The 110-page report, which is designed as a risk analysis, does not rank or grade the cities. But the document lays out strengths and weaknesses which are poured over closely by the candidate cities in the final stages of the race.

All three can take positives from the report, which was prepared for International Olympic Committee members ahead of a briefing by the bid cities next week in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The IOC will select the host city by secret ballot on Sept. 7 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Istanbul is bidding for a fifth time. Tokyo, which hosted the 1964 Olympics, is back for a second consecutive effort, and Madrid is trying for a third straight time.

— The Associated Press