Madrid unveiled details of their bid to hold the 2016 Olympics, with the city saying they aimed to take a human approach to their second successive bid for the Games.
MADRID: Madrid unveiled details of their bid to hold the 2016 Olympics on Tuesday, with the city saying they aimed to take a human approach to their second successive bid for the Games.
"We want the 2016 Games to be the Games of the People and that this accent on the people should be evident in our top quality sports facilities and in every activity related to the Olympic bid and the Games themselves," said mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon.
Madrid made an unsuccessful bid to hold the 2012 Games -- eliminated in the third round of voting at the IOC congress in Singapore in 2005 where London defeated Paris in the decisive vote.
Ruiz-Gallardon said that although the bid was similar to that made for the 2012 Games, there were significant improvements in hotel infrastructure and security which were seen as two of the weaker elements of their last candidature.
The strong suits in the city's bid are its support amongst the inhabitants, the existence of high-quality sports facilities and the compact nature of the Games with 25 of the 30 sports areas located less than 12 kilometers from the city centre.
Gallardon said the city's experience of going through the bidding process for the 2012 Games would ensure its success this time round. "It is not just possible, not just probable, we are going to get the 2016 Games and I told the IOC that today," he said.
The epicenter of the Games will be the Peineta stadium in the East of the city which will be surrounded by 15 sports areas, while the regenerated western zone around the River Manzanares will represent the 'lungs' of the Olympic city.
Gallardon said the Games would be used to spark social and physical regeneration of the city with some 780 hectares of degraded areas being transformed into green spaces and parks.
"The transport will also be clean because we will make air quality and the environment a top priority in order to ensure an Olympic and Paralympic Games that will be free of private vehicles," added Gallardon.
"Madrid is proving that financial development, the social integration and the environmental protection are compatible objectives, and those are the reasons why we are starting from a good base in that aspect."
The city proposes to hold the Olympics from Aug. 5 to Aug. 21 with the Paralympics taking place from Sept. 9 to 21. Rio de Janeiro, Chicago, Tokyo, Doha, Prague and Baku are also bidding for the Games.
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