POSTED: Wednesday September 2nd 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Madrid will fight until October 2 to show the IOC that it’s the best option for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, says Mayor

The Mayor praised the work of the Evaluation Commission

Main points of today’s press conference by the Madrid 2016 bid leaders:

 

• The detailed report has left Madrid’s candidature in a stronger position because the bid is least criticized and most praised
• It identifies Madrid as having the highest level of popular support
• An important point in the Report is that Madrid is the only bid with a specific section that values the legacy the Games will leave in the capital
• The two aspects for improvement according to the IOC are “perfectly achievable by October 2nd”, because they deal with deficiencies in administration, rather than any problems with infrastructure
• Regarding doping issues, in the event of any conflict with Spanish and international legislations, then the WADA code will take priority in 2016
• The bid team will continue to strengthen presentations so that the IOC will see the extraordinary quality of the Madrid project

 

Madrid 2 September Madrid will fight until the 2 October to ensure that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will choose the candidacy of Madrid 2016 as the organisers of what will be “a formidable Games, the best in History, and a Games for the Latin and Mediterranean world”, the Mayor Mr Alberto Ruiz Gallardón told a press conference this afternoon. He added, “Our great Olympic project has been strengthened today”.

 

The Mayor praised the work of the Evaluation Commission which had undertaken a “serious, very professional and in-depth report, analyzing in minute detail all the aspects of each candidate city.

 

“The most important thing is that Madrid, Tokyo, Chicago and Rio could all organise the Games, according to the Commission who visited all four cities.

 

“After this detailed examination our bid has been strengthened because we are the least criticised and the city which has received most praise from the IOC. Madrid is the city which has the most popular support, according to the polls carried out by the IOC, which is included in the annexe of the report. An important point of the Report is that Madrid is the only city with a separate section which values the legacy which the Games will leave in the capital,” he said.

 

The Mayor also outlined other positives in the Report, including; financial guarantees; institutional support; a highly compact Games; the existence of 23 of the 33 necessary venues, all within a 10km radius of the city centre and a plan which includes social inclusion, urban regeneration and the integration of the Paralympic Games into the overall global concept.

 

Mr Ruiz-Gallardón held the press conference with other bid leaders including the Secretary of State for Sport, Jaime Lissavetzky; the President of the Spanish Olympic Committee, Alejandro Blanco and the Chief Executive of Madrid 2016, Mercedes Coghen.

 

After congratulating the other cities, Mr Ruiz-Gallardón added, the IOC only reflected on two aspects of the Madrid bid which need improvement and said, “these are perfectly achievable before 2 October”, since they deal with administration rather than major infrastructure problems.

 

Regarding concerns about Spain conforming to requirements of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the Secretary of State for Sport, Mr Jaime Lissavetzky said “this matter has already been dealt with. Spain has one of the toughest stances against doping in the world and if there was any conflict with Spanish legislation, then the WADA code would take priority in 2016”.

 

All the bid leaders agreed that they look forward to the final being played out in Copenhagen on October 2nd and that every effort will be made on the Madrid presentations to ensure they transmit to the IOC the extraordinary quality of the project”.

 

- ENDS –

 

 

 

For further information please call Malcolm Munro on + 44 7795013006 or Nicky Blunt on +44 20 7861 3107        

 

https://mail.madrid16.es/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.madrid2016.es/ blocked::https://mail.madrid16.es/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.madrid2016.es/ https:” href=“https://mail.madrid16.es/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.madrid2016.es/” target=“_blank”>www.madrid2016.es    

 

VNEWS Agency distributes Madrid 2016 footage relating to daily news of the Olympic bid. These videos are free of rights and can be accessed via satellite or FTP download. Please view samples at http://www.vnews.es/” href=“http://www.vnews.es/” target=“_blank”>www.vnews.es (section Madrid 2016).

For further details, please contact Alberto Goytre or Carmen Bond at VNEWS, alberto.goytre@vnews.es, +34 662 361412.

 

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Keywords · Madrid 2016 · Alberto Ruiz Gallardón · IOC · Olympic bids · Jaime Lissavetzky · Alejandro Blanco · Mercedes Coghen

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Name: Malcom Munro
Organization: Madrid 2016 Olympic Bid
Email:
Phone: +44 (0) 7795 013006
URL: http://www.madrid2016.es/EN/Paginas/Home.aspx

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