POSTED: Wednesday September 2nd 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tokyo 2016 Starts Sprint to Finish Line with Strong IOC Report

Praised for promoting contemporary Games and vision combining vitality and sustainability, heritage and innovation

Tokyo, 3 September 2009 – Tokyo 2016’s technical bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been praised by the IOC Evaluation Commission’s report on the four Candidate Cities’ respective bids. The report, issued today, recognised Tokyo’s plan to host ‘socially, environmentally and economically sustainable Games’.

The report praised Tokyo’s ‘highly compact venue plan’ and ‘effective use of the city’s extensive and high-capacity public transport network’, key reasons why Tokyo 2016 promises minimum travel time and maximum convenience for athletes and visitors. The commission recognized that ‘the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has financially guaranteed the Games and has established an “Olympic Hosting Reserve Fund” of USD 3.7 billion’.

Also cited was Tokyo’s tangible promise to deliver a ‘100-year Olympic legacy’ for future generations, in part by ‘upgrading and using venues from the 1964 Olympic Games’. The report noted that Tokyo 2016 offers a comprehensive environmental plan and sustainability strategy that builds on the city’s strong set of environmental standards and policies.

The report also made special mention of Tokyo’s full integration of the Paralympic Games within its overall plan, which will serve as a catalyst for social change.

Commenting on the momentum-building report, Tokyo 2016 Chair and CEO Dr Ichiro Kono said:

“We are grateful for the diligent and professional work of the IOC Evaluation Commission in their evaluation of our comprehensive, athlete-centred plan to set the stage for Olympic heroes, and thereby inspire world youth to embrace sport, healthy living and the Olympic Movement.

“We are encouraged by the report and will use this momentum to fuel our final dash to Copenhagen, where the IOC will choose the 2016 Candidate City on 2 October.

“The strong evaluation shows the world why Tokyo 2016 would enhance the Olympic Movement with a winning Games plan incorporating vitality, sustainability, heritage and innovation. We appreciate that they understand our fully achievable budget based on the ‘double insurance policy’ of total financial guarantees provided by the Tokyo and national governments.”

From the start of this year, Tokyo 2016 has attracted increasingly stronger support from all sections of Japanese society, and now enjoys widespread appreciation for its efforts to inspire sport and healthy living among the youth. “Domestic support for Tokyo 2016 has reacted very favourably to our promise to help create a healthier, greener future. All polls show that more than 20 million people in Japan’s capital alone support the Bid – enough to fill all Games venues several times over,” said Dr Kono.

“Since the EC’s visit to Tokyo in April, we have responded enthusiastically to their feedback and carefully incorporated their ideas. We strongly believe that our final winning plan meets all outstanding challenges and fully demonstrates our ability and desire to be the IOC’s most reliable and dependable partner.”

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Keywords · Tokyo 2016 · IOC · Olympic Bids · Ichiro Kono

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