OLYMPICS-IOC/BACH Thomas Bach says the IOC will help to monitor progress of a new stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Record ID: 145763

  • Title: OLYMPICS-IOC/BACH Thomas Bach says the IOC will help to monitor progress of a new stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
  • Date: 29th July 2015
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) PRESIDENT THOMAS BACH SAYING: "We want to be involved in the tender. So the tender is already worded and put together in a way that all Olympic requirements are taken into consideration and that there are no surprises in then in one year or half a year."
  • Embargoed: 13th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Malaysia
  • Country: Malaysia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA2K9OTCBC3F3VKYTIXID7P7DSO
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach on Wednesday (July 29) defended Tokyo 2020 organisers after they scrapped initial plans for their Olympic Stadium.
    Costs for the New National Stadium, set to be the centerpiece of the Games, soared to $2.1 billion, nearly twice original estimates, sparking widespread outrage that prompted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to abandon the initial design.
    And following the IOC executive board meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Bach said the IOC will be flexible.
    "As I explained we have seen there the rising construction costs overall in Tokyo and we have also, in the spirit of Olympic agenda 2020, always said when it comes to making the games more feasible then the IOC will be very flexible," Bach said in a news conference in Kuala Lumpur.
    The IOC said it would now be part of the new stadium tender to help monitor its progress.
    "We want to be involved in the tender. So the tender is already worded and put together in a way that all Olympic requirements are taken into consideration and that there are no surprises in then in one year or half a year," Bach said.
    Meanwhile the IOC also discussed Boston's withdrawal from the bidding process for the 2024 Summer Olympics, Bach saying he was confident that the United States would recommend a new city before mid-September.
    "We are not concerned at all because for us the situation has not changed. We had a commitment from United States Olympic Committee for Olympic candidature for 2024 and we have this commitment and we're sure that USOC (United State Olympic Committee) will deliver on this commitment," said Bach.
    Boston was picked by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to be the country's candidate for the 2024 Games but USOC rescinded its bid in a spectacular U-turn on Monday (July 27) after the city's mayor said taxpayers could not afford to host the event.
    The move was a blow to that campaign and came after four out of six cities withdrew from the 2022 Winter Games race, leaving China's Beijing and Kazakhstan's Almaty as the only bidders.
    IOC laid the blame squarely on Boston for its aborted attempt to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, saying the city had failed to deliver on its promises.
    The two-day meeting will lead up to a vote to elect the host city for the 2022 Winter Games on July 31.
    Beijing, which hosted the 2008 summer Games, is looking to become the first city to be awarded both summer and winter editions of the world's biggest multi-sports event.
    Victory for Beijing would also mean that Asia would host three consecutive Olympics after the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang in South Korea and Tokyo's 2020 Summer Olympics.
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