Istanbul, Madrid trade blows as race becomes messy

The battle for the right to host the 2020 Summer Olympics entered its’ final stages on Wednesday with the Istanbul bid saying in Buenos Aires that of the three candidates they would need to spend the least on ‘dedicated Olympic projects’.

Their claim will surprise many as one of their rivals Madrid’s strongest selling points was that the economic crisis in Spain would not affect their bid because their budget was a modest one 2.37 billion euros ( 3.12 billion) as most of the venues and the infrastructure are already in place.

The Istanbul bid, which is also up against the third candidate Tokyo, may have hoped to take a bit of the wind out of the sails of Madrid, but the Spaniards had their own moment of triumph today when they secured the support of four-time world footballer of the year Lionel Messi.

The 26-year-old Argentinian’s support for Madrid may have come as something of a rude shock not only to supporters of his club Barcelona, bitter rivals of Real Madrid, but also to Istanbul as he promotes Turkish Airlines, one of the main sponsors of the Olympic bid.

Istanbul, though, will hope the revelation that their budget would be the lowest in terms of expenditure will strike a chord with IOC members. Several of the candidates seeking to replace retiring IOC president Jacques Rogge on September 10 have made it clear they don’t want to see the Games getting bigger and more expensive and unaffordable for some cities to host.

‘Istanbul will have the lowest expenditure on dedicated Olympic projects. Three billion dollars worth are already completed and in the ground,’ said Istanbul 2020’s Director of Sport Alp Berker at their opening press conference, just five days away from when the International Olympic Committee members will vote on who hosts the Games.

Hasan Arat, the dynamic leader of the bid, said the Marmaray Rail Tunnel, the deepest in the world - was a case in point of projects being completed. ‘Our politicians promise and they deliver. The Marmaray Tunnel has fulfilled dreams that endured for 150 years of the Silk Road traversing East and West. Now there is a link between Beijing and London which means a lot to the Turkish people,’ he said.