Tokyo has been awarded the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, following a host city vote by International Olympic Committee members in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Saturday.
With Madrid eliminated in the opening round, the final vote was between the Japanese capital and Istanbul, with Tokyo winning with 60 votes to Istanbul’s 36.
IOC President, Jacques Rogge, who retires on Tuesday after 12 years as president, announced the result, which will see Tokyo become the only Asian city to have held the Games more than once.
The 2020 Games could see young British track and field stars such as Adam Gemili, who became only the second ever Brit to run sub-20 seconds over 200m in Moscow, and European under-23 heptathlon champion, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, among those looking to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Lynn Davies and Ann Packer who secured Olympic success in the Japanese capital almost 50 years ago.
In a statement on the IOC website, Rogge commented: “Congratulations to the city of Tokyo on its election as host of the 2020 Olympic Games.
“Tokyo presented a very strong technical bid from the outset – and it needed to in competition with two such high-calibre bids from Istanbul and Madrid.
“All three cities were capable of staging excellent Games in 2020, but in the end it was Tokyo’s bid that resonated the most with the IOC membership, inviting us to “discover tomorrow” by delivering a well-organised and safe Games that will reinforce the Olympic values while demonstrating the benefits of sport to a new generation.”
As stated in Tokyo’s bid plan, the venue for athletics is set to be the Kasumigaoka National Stadium, which is on the site of the Olympic Stadium for the Tokyo 1964 Games.
The stadium, which can seat 80,000, is also due to be the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies, plus the football and rugby competitions.
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