Istanbul, Tokyo And Madrid Shortlisted To Host 2020 Olympics

KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 (Bernama) -- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has shortlisted Istanbul (Turkey), Tokyo (Japan) and Madrid (Spain) as the three candidate cities bidding to host the 2020 Olympic Games. According to the IOC website, the candidate cities were accepted from among five applicant cities, which also included Baku (Azerbaijan) and Doha (Qatar). The three candidate cities were requested to prepare their candidature file with an in-depth description of their Olympic project. The three cities will also prepare for the visit of the IOC Evaluation Commission. The Commission will then make a detailed technical assessment of each candidature and publish a report in advance of the 2020 briefing for IOC members in July 2013. The election of the host city for the 2020 Summer Olympics will take place on Sept 7, 2013 at the IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina, according to the website. The 2012 Olympics will be held in London in July, and the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). -- BERNAMA