This month, the IOC Evaluation Commission is visting the three candidates cities. The election of the winning city will take place on 7 September at 125th IOC session in Buenos Aires.
Tokyo
Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics. Tokyo’s 2020 bid is the city’s fifth bid for the games.
Japan has also hosted the Winter Olympics in 1972 in Sapporo and 1998 in Nagano.
Competition will be staged in three types of venues:
- Historic venues dating from the 1964 Games, modernised and refurbished to extend their legacy for at least another 50 years. The centrepiece of the 1964 legacy venues will be the new Olympic Stadium – the first in Games history to have a retractable roof. It will blend the history and tradition of the site, with Tokyo’s renowned innovation and technology to create a new domestic and international sporting icon, which will stage the Tokyo 2020 Opening and Closing Ceremony and other similarly high-profile sport events for decades to come. Among the other 1964 venues that will also benefit from modernisation is Yoyogi National Stadium, which will host Handball.
- New permanent venues that will herald a new legacy, bringing much-needed new facilities to city centre living.
- Temporary venues, located in spectacular oceanside settings overlooking Tokyo Bay.
The tennis event will be played at the Ariake Tennis Park. The existing Ariake Coliseum, a multipurpose 10,000 seat stadium with an all-weather court and a sliding retractable roof, regularly hosts international and major domestic events.
Tokyo 2020 website
Tokyo 2020 candidature file
More on Ariake Tennis Park
Madrid
Madrid‘s 2020 bid is their third consecutive bid for the games and fourth overall bid.
Spain previously hosted the 1992 Summer Olympics at Barcelona.
The venues will be divided into two zones:
– the Campo de las Naciones Zone, located in the east of the city, which will house 14 Olympic venues, the Olympic and Paralympic Village, the Media Village, the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) and the Main Press Centre.
– the Manzanares Zone, in the west, has 7 Olympic venues and is located in an area of environmental regeneration, where the river which crosses Madrid has been restored for use as an extensive parkland area for recreation and sport.
The tennis event will take place at the Caja Magica, used for the Madrid Masters and which also hosted the 2013 World Men’s Handball Championship.
Madrid 2020 website
Madrid 2020 candidature file
Istanbul
Istanbul’s 2020 bid is their fifth bid. If the city wins the bid, Turkey would be the 24th nation to host the Olympic Games.
The Istanbul 2020 Games Master Plan features four zones:
- the Olympic City Zone is located in the city’s populous and important western growth region, with significant existing and planned transport infrastructure. The Olympic City Cluster comprises the İstanbul Olympic ParkPrecinct with 11 venues including the existing Atatürk Olympic Stadium and the Olympic Tennis Centre.
- the Coastal Zone, home to the historic sites along the Marmara Sea shoreline, is currently the site of significant regeneration and restoration programmes.
- the Bosphorus Zone, located in the heart of the old city, provides the stage for hosting events concurrently on the European and Asian sides of the city, activating the majestic waterway for competition and public events.
- the Forest Zone, Situated in the north of the city. This cluster comprises the Belgrad Forest Precinct (three venues – Belgrad Forest Cycle Park, Olympic Whitewater Stadium and the National Shooting Centre), as well as the Seyrantepe Stadium.
The tennis event will be played at the yet to be built Olympic Tennis Centre.
Istanbul 2020 website
Istanbul 2020 candidature file
Schedule
March 4–7 – IOC Evaluation Commission visit to Tokyo
March 18–21 – IOC Evaluation Commission visit to Madrid
March 24–27 – IOC Evaluation Commission visit to Istanbul
July 3–4 – Candidate cities briefing to IOC Members in Lausanne
TBD – Report of the IOC evaluation commission
7 September – Election of the host city at 125th IOC session in Buenos Aires
According to the bookmakers Tokyo is the favorite, who do you think will win?
Loading …Read part one here.
Basketball Arena
The 12,000-capacity Basketball Arena is the third-largest venue in the Olympic Park. For the Paralympics, the Basketball Arena has been transformed to host the Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby events before being taken down, with parts expected to be reused or relocated elsewhere in the UK.
BP Pavilion
The next Andy Murray?
Enjoying the Park
Paralympic Village
Water Polo Arena
Aquatics Centre
Designed by Iraq-born architect Zaha Hadid, the Aquatics Centre was the last structure to be completed before the Games began.
After the Games, the two temporary wings will be removed while the Centre will be transformed into a leisure facility for local and elite swimmers, complete with creche, family-friendly changing facilities, a cafe and a new public plaza.
Stratford Gate
The main Olympic Park entrance:
The Orbit and the Olympic Stadium
Bandstand
Enjoying a bit of music to put an end to this fantastic day at the Paralympics.
A few pics of the women’s doubles bronze medal match between Shuker-Whiley and Khantasit-Techamaneewat.
The British pair of Lucy Shuker and Jordanne Whiley prevailed over the Thai pair 6-7 7-6 6-3 after more than 3 hours of play! A match they could have won easily in straight sets as they served for the first set at 5-3 and at 5-4 in the second set.
470th consecutive win for Esther Vergeer as she claimed her fourth Paralympic women’s singles gold medal in the all Dutch singles wheelchair tennis final against Aniek van Koot.
Van Koot was down 0-6 0-4 before she broke Vergeer, who wins 6-0 6-3.
London Paralympics from Tennis Buzz on Vimeo.
I spent a few days in London last week and I was thrilled to have tickets for the wheelchair tennis event on Friday and to take part to the Paralympics as a spectator.
Victoria Gate
On my way to the Olympic Park:
A swift and hassle-free passage through security and here I am.
Olympic Stadium
The 80,000 capacity Olympic Stadium played host to the Olympic and the Paralympic Athletics as well as all the opening and closing ceremonies.
London 2012 Megastore
McDonalds
World’s largest McDonalds:
Following Dutch fans on my way to Eton Manor for the women’s singles finale between Esther Vergeer and Aniek Van Koot
RUN
Panasonic 3D Theatre
There were lots of free activities provided by Paralympic sponsors, like the Panasonic Theatre, Samsung booth, Coca Cola Beatbox… but I was there to watch some sports and I’m not a huge fan of lines, so I can’t report on them.
Coca Cola Beatbox
Park Live
British Airways have sponsored a giant screen perched in the middle of the River Lea. Park Live is the only place to catch up on sport if you’re not inside a venue.
Mascot House
The Olympic Park is really big, from one end to the other it’s about two kilometres. It took me more than 20 minutes from the Olympic Stadium to Eaton Manor, at the northern end of the park.
For people having trouble getting around, there were stacks of Games Mobility Vehicles parked up, with Games Makers ready to spring into action.
Basketball Arena
Velodrome
And finally, Eton Manor, where I spent most of the aftenoon watching the women’s singles final and the women’s doubles bronze medal match.
Eton Manor
Enjoy more pics and videos of the final between Esther Vergeer and Aniek Van Koot here.
Timed to coincide with the end of the Paralympics, the Greater London Authority has launched The Gifts of the Games, a poster campign and website highlighting some of the benefits that 2012 has brought to London.
The ads will be running on the tube network and the DLR as well as in the Metro newspaper for the next six weeks.
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