Turkish Youth and Sports Minister Suat Kilic said on Thursday that Istanbul was a rising Olympic city to host 2020 Olympics.
Kilic attended the 11th Convention of SportAccord which was participated by the representatives of official candidates Istanbul, Tokyo and Madrid that brings officials from more than 100 international sports federations and organizations in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Kilic said the infrastructure of the main stadium was ready on the Olympic Park, adding " If you have not been to Istanbul recently, I can assure you that you will be surprised when you see the newly built sports facilities. We will also put a new investment program into practice to improve our country's sports facilities worth of 2.5 million USD."
Turkey is determined to host the 2020 Olympics and embrace the world on the international stage like it has done for thousands of years, said Kilic.
"Turkey has made a great progress in economy and transportation. Our economy has grown over 5 percent on average annually in the last ten years. Turkey has become the 16th largest economy in the world. We have the financial power required to host the 2020 Olympics. Olympic games adjust to the developments in Turkey including transportation. Today, 1.400.000 passengers travel by underground and this figure will reach 7 million by 2018. The groundbreaking ceremony of the 3rd bridge worth of 4.5 billion USD in Istanbul was held yesterday. It will be the 4th link between Europe and Asia and a new airport will be built in Istanbul" said Kilic.
Ugur Erdener, Chairman of National Olympic Committee of Turkey, Hasan Arat, Vice Chairman of National Olympic Committee of Turkey, and national athlete Neslihan Darnel also attended the convention.
