The decision will be made by International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the first of a three-day meeting in Buenos Aires. Both Turkey's rivals for the Olympics, Japan and Spain, have hosted the games before, Tokyo in 1964 and Barcelona in 1992.
Istanbul has made four previous bids for the Summer Games. The city was a candidate for the 2000 Games which were awarded to Sydney. It bid again for 2004, which were held in Athens, but failed to become a candidate city. It became a candidate for 2008 but lost to Beijing. The Turkish city's most recent bid was for the 2012 Games but it failed to become a candidate. London was awarded the 2012 Games. 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 and the first Muslim-majority nation to host the Games.
Hasan Arat, who heads Istanbul 2020 Bid committee, is optimistic about the city's fifth bid, stating that over the past several years the city has seen the development of new venues and infrastructure improvements.
“It is very significant news that the value Turkey gives its youth is emerging here on a global platfrom,” Istanbul 2020 Candidacy Committee President Hasan Arat stated in commenting on Turkey's presentation for its bid to host the 2020 Olympics.
Arat underlined that the youth-themed presentation advancing the Olympic bid of Turkey, competing with Tokyo and Madrid to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, had caught the attention of the international media.
“Our country's future is in the hands of its youth,” Arat told a press conference in Argentine capital Buenos Aires. He explained that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would note the decision by the Turkish government and candidacy committee to fill the first five rows during the final presentation with young people.
Indicating that none of the youths attending the presentation were currently at professional status, Arat stated, “I have always said we are proud of our youth... We have Europe's youngest population.”
“Turkey has changed drastically and has made very important breakthroughs,” he added, noting that the changes were not as noticeable while remaining in Turkey, but became evident upon returning to the country from abroad.
“Important sports projects have been undertaken in Turkey over the last ten years. Applying the acquired experiences on an Olympic level will be one of Turkey's priorities.”
The IOC will vote on Saturday on whether Istanbul, Tokyo or Madrid will host the 2020 Olympics.
"The Istanbul 2020 Olympic Games Plan creates a powerful combination of utility and legacy, activating areas of historical and strategic importance throughout the city, while achieving full compliance with requirements," the committee said in its bidding book. The Istanbul 2020 Games Master Plan features four zones, with the operational grouping of the venues yielding a total of seven clusters and four precincts.
The largest of the four zones, the Olympic City Zone, is located in the city’s populous and important western growth region, with a significant existing and planned transportation infrastructure. This zone will include two clusters - Olympic City and Esenler - with 14 total sports venues.
The Coastal Zone, home to historic sites along the Marmara Sea shoreline, includes many historic sites. The Old City Cluster includes three venues (Golden Gate Park, Golden Gate Marina and Golden Gate Arena) while the Ataköy Cluster is comprised of the Ataköy Precinct (three venues - Ataköy Dome, Atakoy Arena and Olympic Velodrome) and the Atakoy Marina.
The bidding committee said in its master plan that the Bosphorus Zone will provide "the stage for hosting events concurrently on the European and Asian sides of the city, activating the majestic waterway for competition and public events." This zone is to be divided into two clusters in which Port Cluster will host 5 venues while Taksim Cluster will incorporate Inonu Stadium and Congress Valley Auditorium.
The Forest Zone will consist of only Belgrad Forest Cluster. The olympic committee underlined that this cluster is a natural oasis within the city.
In addition to the venues situated in the four zones, there are four standalone venues.
"We are on the last stretch, these are the last days, last minutes. Everything is very important," said Arat hopeful that the presentation, by the delegation headed by Prime Minister Erdogan, will draw away votes from rivals Japan and Spain.
Arat stressed Istanbul's strong candidacy, "it has a young population, strong economy and excellent infrastructure projects underway - the third airport and third bridge, Marmaray (the Bosphorous underwater railway tunnel due to open in 2015)".
Another factor in Turkey's favour is that it has never been selected to host the games, while Japan has hosted two summer and one winter games and Spain has also hosted the Olympics, Arat pointed out.
Praising the input made by Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan during the presentation in July in Lausanne, Switzerland, Arat reiterated that the Turkish government and public were very much behind the bid.
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