Istanbul 2020 head Hasan Arat told AFP that Istanbul winning the bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games would help bridge the gap between different cultures and religions.
Arat said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) members would be making a historic choice if they voted for Istanbul ahead of Madrid and Tokyo, the other two cities bidding for the 2020 Games.
He said, “it would be a bridge to excellence, a bridge to a new culture.
“A bridge to an historic impact. It will unify the Olympic movement by bridging together different cultures, religions and generations. Istanbul is already the fifth most visited city in the world”, he said.
AFP reports a third bridge along with two tunnels would alleviate some of the traffic problems that weigh heavily on IOC members’ minds when it comes to voting. Those construction projects, along with a recently proposed third airport, have also reinforced the impression that the Turkish government is fully behind the bid.
Arat said, “the airport will be new (and at 22.15bn Euros the best ever tender in Turkey)”. We will have three airports. We didn’t mention the third bridge and third airport in the bid book as they were not tendered at that time.
“The Eurasia tunnel will be opened on October 29. Trials will being on August 1. It is good for the bid as after August 1 there will be a train passing from Asia to Europe.”
