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QUEBEC CITY: Istanbul, Tokyo and Madrid made the first cut amongbidders to host the 2020 Olympic Games at a meeting of theInternational Olympic Committee on Wednesday. Baku and Doha were dropped from the running, IOC officialsannounced at a news conference. The IOC will decide which city will host the 2020 Olympics in afinal vote in September of next year at Buenos Aires. That givesthe remaining hopefuls more than 15 months to make finalimpressions upon the IOC to boost their candidacy. "I think this will be a big help for the Japanese people,"Tsunekazu Takeda, the Tokyo 2010 bid chief, said after the city wasshortlisted. Tokyo are the only one of the candidates to have hosted the event,doing so in 1964, and with a sound plan for hosting the Games and apowerful message, many see Tokyo as the pacesetter. The Japanese capital launched its bid in the wake of last year'sdevastating earthquake and tsunami, which killed about 19,000people. Hosting the 2020 Olympics is seen as an opportunity to help rebuildthe country and bring some much-needed joy to its people. "I think it will give big, big power to the people who suffered thedisaster," Takeda said. Ordinarily Madrid would be seen as running close with Tokyo, havingbeaten them in the race for 2016 only to finish a runner-up to Riode Janeiro. But the specter of Spain's dire financial crisis hangs over them. For serial bidder Turkey to be shortlisted after failing to win theright to host the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Games made the IOCdecision a landmark sign of progress for Istanbul. "This is a history moment," said Istanbul bid team member HasanArat. Its pitch has not fundamentally changed since last time, but theirbid team ironed out deficiencies in the original proposals. "This time, Istanbul is ready to deliver," Arat said in astatement. Istanbul, however, is also bidding to host the 2020 UEFA EuropeanFootball Championship and the IOC forbids hosting two major sportsevent in the same year. Many believe that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, aformer footballer, favours hosting the UEFA competition over theOlympics. But Arat insisted, "Our priority is the Olympics." "The chance to compete on the greatest stage in sport in front of ahome crowd will inspire a generation of young people," addedHidayet Turkoglu, the national men's basketball captain who playsfor the NBA's Orlando Magic. Baku also failed to make the short list last time but had said theylearned from their mistakes this time. The IOC, in its decision,noted a lack of infrastructure and experience in hosting a majorsporting event. There was also sadness in Doha after being cut. "We are obviously very disappointed... (and) surprised by thisdecision," said Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, generalsecretary of the Qatar Olympic Committee. Doha had been granted an exception to host the Games in October andNovember when temperatures in the Mideast country are not asblistering hot, instead of the usual July and August. Had they been successful it would have been the first to bring theGames to the Middle East. But the subsequent furore after Qatar was awarded the 2022 WorldCup, according to some, made IOC members reluctant to suffer thesame bad press as FIFA did. It should be noted that Doha scored among the top for technicalability to host the Games. And having already built or budgeted formany of the sports venues, its bid would have offered a degree ofcertainty in uncertain economic times. - AFP/fa. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Frameless Folding Windows Manufacturer , China Aluminum Tilt And Turn Windows for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Aluminum Tilt And Turn Windows.
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