Madrid bid team expecting to lead IOC report

The president of Madrid's bid to host the 2020 Olympics, Alejandro Blanco said Wednesday he expects the Spanish capital will receive the highest technical score when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission publish their reports all three candidate cities. Madrid received a higher score than Tokyo and Istanbul after initial reports carried out by the IOC last May and after three days of the Evaluation Commission's visit to inspect the facilities on offer in Madrid, he sees no reason why it shouldn't remain so. "I expect the Commission to say good things (in a press conference) tomorrow but the most important thing is their report," he told a press conference on Wednesday. "I hope Madrid continues in first place when the reports are published as it deserves to." The major topic of the day had been an examination of the city's transport facilities and Blanco added that the Commission members had been impressed by the proximity of all the venues to the city centre. "A very important value of the bid is that all the venues are within the city. "We are really prepared and this is a great advantage for the project. It is a compact project with excellent facilities." City mayor Ana Botella also reflected on what she saw as another successful day. "Transport is one of the strong points of the bid. The people of Madrid should be very proud of the transport system we have. "We have had an excellent day and with the sun shining all the buildings we visited looked spectacular as did the view of the Madrid. "Sometimes people from Madrid don't realise what we have to offer because we are so used to our surroundings, but we are very proud of our city and have many reasons to be so." The commission will finalise their inspections on Thursday before moving on to conduct their visit of Istanbul next week. From: AFP