Crisis-hit Madrid defends 2020 Olympic bid
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photos
(Left to right) Spanish Minister of Education, Culture and Sport Jose Ignacio Wert, Madrid's mayor Ana Botella, president of Madrid Regional Government Ignacio Gonzalez and President of the Spanish Olympic Committee Alejandro Blanco pose at the end of the presentation of Madrid as a candidate city for the 2020 summer Olympics games on Jan 8, 2013 in Madrid. Spain on Tuesday defended a 1.7-billion Euro (S$2.7 billion) bid to host the Olympics in Madrid in 2020 even as the country battles a recession and unemployment that has shot to 25 per cent, while slashing spending. -- PHOTO: AFP
MADRID (AFP) - Spain on Tuesday defended a 1.7-billion Euro (S$2.7 billion) bid to host the Olympics in Madrid in 2020 even as the country battles a recession and unemployment that has shot to 25 per cent, while slashing spending.
Spain's delegation submitted the 360-page bid documents to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Monday.
If Madrid beats favourite Tokyo and rival Istanbul, it estimates it would have to invest another 1.7 billion Euros to complete the infrastructure for the Games.
The budget is "austere and responsible", Education, Culture and Sports Minister Jose Ignacio Wert told a press conference in Madrid.
