Despite Spain dipping into recession late last month, Reuter’s reports a senior bid official said Tuesday that Madrid won’t pull out of its bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.
Rome withdrew from its 2020 bid in February because it could not provide financial guarantees, and now there have been concerns that Madrid’s bid could also be affected by the debt crisis in Spain.
Theresa Zabell, the bid’s CEO of international relations, told Reuters, “Madrid has absolutely no intention of backing out of bidding for the Games. We will be in Buenos Aires next year with a strong bid”.
Madrid is bidding for a third consecutive time. It lost the 2012 Games to London and the 2016 Games to Rio de Janeiro.
Zabell said, “the economic situation is an extra item that did not exist in the last bids. Bidding for the Olympic Games is not a cost. It is an investment in our country. Not only in material, but also in morale”.
Reuter’s reports Madrid’s bid has all but six venues already in place, but is shifting the focus from past bids to the Games’ sporting aspect.
Madrid points out that in the last ten years the city has hosted 85 European championships and 77 world championships. Zabell said, “few cities can boast of holding so many international events of such a large category”.
Zabell added, “we really need the Games. We have a high percent of unemployment and w need the Games to get the country moving”.
She said, “new countries are trying to bid for the Games that traditionally did not bid before. But I personally don’t think the Olympic Games can go from new countries (Brazil in 2016) to new countries. They have to come back to countries where they know the Games will be a quality experience”.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will select a host city for the 2020 Games in September 2013. Madrid’s competitors are Istanbul, Baku, Doha and Tokyo. .
