Tokyo's 2020 vision excites IOC

In the end it was a comfortable win
- Tokyo beating Istanbul 60-36. In
fact Tokyo were so far out in front
they almost won in the first round.
It was all very different four years
ago. Then Tokyo polled just 20 votes
as they went out in the second
round of the race for 2016 - a contest
won by Rio de Janeiro.
Here in Buenos Aires they showed
they had learned the key lesson from
that campaign - that presenting a
sound and safe technical bid
wouldn't be enough. They also had
to inspire.
Their slick presentation on Saturday
did just that, emphasising the
economic and political strengths [not
enjoyed by their rivals Madrid and
Istanbul] but at the same time setting
out an ambitious and exciting vision
for the 2020 Games.
Although the presence of Princess
Hisako charmed the members of the
International Olympic Committee,
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
was the star turn.
His speech to the members tackled
head on the one issue which could
still harm Tokyo's bid - the potential
for further leaks from the crippled
nuclear power plant at Fukushima.
His emphatic declaration that the
situation was under control clearly
settled any last-minute nerves
among the IOC.
So what else helped swing the vote
Tokyo's way?
There is no doubt that after all the
problems the IOC has been
experiencing in Sochi and Rio, they
were looking for a safe pair of hands.
Tokyo's bid was ranked number one
in the technical assessment carried
out by the IOC evaluation
commission in June.
Add to that the commercial allure of
Japan's well-established sports and
media market and it's easy to see
why they were such a popular
choice.
There was also a feeling that this was
Asia's turn. By the time the Games
come to Tokyo it will have been 12
years since the Beijing Olympics.
The support of the influential Sheikh
Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, a
member of the Kuwaiti Royal Family,
also helped. An IOC member since
1992, he is chairman of the powerful
Association of National Olympic
Committees and the Olympic council
of Asia.
His influence in the IOC is said to be
growing all the time - his support is
thought to be one of the main
reasons why the German Thomas
Bach is favourite to become the new
IOC president next Tuesday.
And he made a very public
appearance at the Tokyo 2020 victory
party at the Sheraton Hotel in
Buenos Aires, hugging senior
members of the bid team and posing
with them for pictures.
When asked why Tokyo had won he
would only say: "It was the will of the
house and you have to respect the
will of the house."
It is hard to know just how significant
the Sheikh's support for Tokyo was.
But as one trained IOC observer said,
"it's much better to have him on your
team working for you than on the
outside working against you."
Tokyo was also helped by Madrid's
failure to convince the IOC that the
Spanish economy was ready for the
demands of staging the Olympics.
They were unable to escape from the
shadow of the Eurozone crisis which
has left Spain with huge debts.
By slashing the budget for the
Games to under $2billion they were
doing the right thing by the Spanish
people, but they were limiting their
ability to excite the IOC.
Madrid were also hampered by the
fact that some major European cities
are lining up for Olympic bids in 2024
- in particular Paris and Rome. A
number of European IOC members
wanted to avoid ruining their
chances by electing Madrid now.
As for Istanbul, for so long the front
runner, they couldn't recover from
the damage caused by the recent
street protests and doping scandals.
Turkey's appeal was that it could
unite two continents - Europe and
Asia. They failed to win enough
support in either.