IOC set to vote on Doha 2020 Olympics bid

Qatar Olympic Committee chiefs will learn on Wednesday whether Doha's bid to host the 2020 Games has been shortlisted. The International Olympic Committee is set to pick the official candidates for the 2020 Olympics against the backdrop of the global economic crisis and other issues. Tokyo, Istanbul and Madrid are thought to be  favourites to make the cut over Doha and Baku as the IOC executive committee aims to narrow down the number of bidders ahead of the host city election next year. In a poll published last week by Olympics news website GamesBids.com, Istanbul and Tokyo were the frontrunners while Doha was in fourth position, head of Baku. Istanbul lodged bids for four of the previous five summer Games and is leveraging that experience and momentum in this campaign, the website reported. German IOC vice-president Thomas Bach has been quoted as saying that the IOC faces its "most difficult decision". Tokyo is the bookmakers favourite to follow Rio de Janeiro (2016) and host the Games a second time following 1964. Last month Qatar's heir apparent, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, led a high-level delegation of Doha 2020 Bid Committee to present its bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The President of Qatar Olympic Committee led the presentation to the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) in Moscow during which he said a key part of the bid would be to promote sport for women in the Middle East. Qatar will send female athletes to the Olympics for the first time this year. Air rifle shooter Bahia Al-Hamad will join swimmer Mohammed Wafa Arakji and 100 and 200 metres sprinter Noor Al-Malki in the Qatar team. The IOC will decide on the cities to proceed to the final vote, scheduled to take place in Buenos Aires in September 2013. Doha fell at this stage in the voting for the 2016 Olympics, which saw Madrid and Tokyo — as well as Chicago — miss out to Rio de Janeiro. If Doha wins the right to host the 2020 event, the Olympic Games from October 2-18, and Paralympic Games from November 4-15 to avoid the searing temperatures during the summer months.