Japanese Cities Set For Joint 2020 Bid
The Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have confirmed that they are considering bidding for the 2020 Summer Olympics in tandem with a campaign to promote a nuclear-free world.
The two cities, which were rebuilt from the devastation of US atomic bombings in the closing days of World War II, said they would set up a committee to study the possibility of a joint bid.
Hiroshima mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, an advocate of nuclear disarmament who has called for the world to be free of atomic weapons by 2020, has previously said he wants the city to host the Olympics in the name of world peace.
Said Akiba: ‘We are aiming for the abolition of nuclear weapons in 2020. If we are engaged in Olympic bidding activities in parallel, it is expected to produce a synergetic effect.
‘The Olympics started as a festival of peace in the first place. In this sense, too, our bid will be appropriate.’
While the International Olympic Committee’s rules state that in principle only one city can host the Olympics, there have been exceptions, such as the 2008 Beijing Summer Games, when Hong Kong staged equestrian events.
Hiroshima, which hosted the 1994 Asian Games, and Nagasaki are around 300 kilometres (190 miles) apart.
The IOC is due to announce the 2020 host city in 2013. Rome and Venice are reportedly preparing bids to host the 2020 Summer Olympics while other cities including Cape Town, Durban, Dubai and Rabat have also been mentioned as possible candidates.
