Cities On Alert As IOC Sets 2020 Bid Deadline
Cities around the world have been put on alert as the International
Olympic Committee revealed a 1st September deadline for nations seeking
to host the 2020 summer Olympics.
In a new twist, any national Olympic body which submits a bid must first comply with rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency. It must also accept the jurisdiction of the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The International Olympic Committee’s 2020 Games bid process will culminate with a host city vote in Buenos Aires on 7th September 2013.
In another first, national committees must notify the IOC by 29th July whether they propose to hold the Games outside the usual 15 July-31 August period. The IOC will rule by the end of August if the dates are acceptable.
In the previous bid contest, the Qatari city of Doha proposed staging the 2016 Games in October to escape the summer heat.
Doha made it through the initial bid phase but was omitted from the shortlist of finalists, mainly because of concerns over the dates. Doha and another Gulf city – Dubai – are potential bidders for 2020.
Once the names of applicant cities have been submitted, initial bid files must be delivered to the IOC by 15 February 2012.
In May of that year, the IOC executive board will decide which to approve as official candidate cities. In the second phase, official bid books must be submitted in January 2013.
An IOC evaluation commission will visit the cities in March and April and issue a report assessing the bids in June, three months before the secret vote at the IOC assembly in Buenos Aires.
So far, Rome – which hosted the 1960 Olympics – is the only city which has been nominated by its national Olympic committee to bid for 2020.
Durban is also expected to enter the race in a bid to bring the games to Africa for the first time. Other potential bidders include Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul.
The IOC will first select the 2018 Winter Games host on 6th July in Durban. The candidates are Annecy, France; Munich in Germany; and Pyeongchang in South Korea.
