TOKYO (AP) - Japan’s prime minister addressed the International Olympic Committee’s evaluation team on Thursday, guaranteeing his government’s complete support of Tokyo’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Games.
The IOC’s 13-member evaluation team began its four-day inspection of Tokyo’s bid Thursday and received a detailed outline of the city’s plans from Tokyo 2016 organizers.
“We will abide in full by every guarantee in the candidate file,” Prime Minister Taro Aso told the evaluation team members. “We will ensure whatever needs to be done will be done.”
The IOC’s evaluation team will get a tour of the proposed venues Friday.
Thursday’s presentation was followed by a 30-minute question and answer session. Tokyo organizers did not say what the specific questions were, but said they were answered convincingly.
Tokyo organizers say their bid offers the most compact games, with almost all venues located less than five miles from the main stadium.
Tokyo hosted the 1964 Olympics and plans to use many of the facilities from those games if awarded the 2016 Games.
Tokyo says 23 of its proposed 34 venues already exist and that land has been secured for the 11 new facilities.
Five of the new venues would be permanent, including the main Olympic stadium on the city’s central waterfront that would hold 100,000 spectators for track and field events and the opening and closing ceremonies.
Tokyo is also confident of its financial security amid the global economic downturn. The city has an annual budget of about $66 billion and has already secured a $4 billion special budget in cash for the Games.
The IOC will vote on the host city at Copenhagen on Oct. 2. Tokyo is competing against Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.
During its visit, the evaluation team will also inspect Tokyo’s infrastructure, transport system and hotels, with Aso saying he was convinced they would be impressed.
“Tokyo has an excellent urban structure with the world’s best transportation networks and accommodation,” Aso said. “It is one of world’s most advanced cities in terms of the sports, environment, and public safety.”
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