Mercedes Coghen, CEO of Madrid 2016, said a Madrid Olympics in 2016 would be a “fiesta” for the Spanish speaking peoples of the world.
The Madrid 2016 bid team is at the SportAccord conference in Denver presenting its bid to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The delegation includes Spain’s IOC member Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., and Madrid’s Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon as well as Jaime Lissavetsky, Spanish Secretary of State for Sport.
Ruiz-Gallardon said, “Spanish unites over 500 million speakers around the world across every continent and we want to emphasize the passion and excitement associated with the Latin culture. This is very much evident in the city of Madrid with its rich culture and vibrant life-style”.
Coghen said, “Spanish is one of the three most widely spoken languages in the world along with Chinese and English. If people want to think about rotating the Olympic Games then why not think about cultural rotation?
This is more than being about language. Madrid would be a Games reflecting Latin passion, you might say, an Olympic fiesta for people from all over the world to enjoy day and night in the safe streets of Madrid”.
