The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) evaluation commission began a four-day inspection of Tokyo’s plans to host the 2020 Olympics on Monday.
IOC vice president Craig Reedie was leading the inspection from March 4 to 7.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Governor of Tokyo Naoki Inose and Tokyo 2020 President Tsunekazu Takeda all made remarks during an official reception.
“We are eager to spend the coming days sharing our exciting vision,” Mr. Takeda said.
Later this month, the evaluation commission will visit Madrid and Istanbul, the other cities bidding to host the games. The IOC will select the host city by secret ballot at its session in Buenos Aires on September 7.
Tokyo organizers will provide explanations on 14 themes, such as the location of venues, security, accommodation, and the all-important vision for the games.
Tokyo, which hosted the 1964 Olympics, is bidding for a second straight time after finishing third in the IOC vote for the 2016 Games, which went to Rio de Janeiro.
Close venues
Tokyo organizers want to highlight the city’s safety and advanced infrastructure, while emphasizing that 28 out of the 33 competition venues will be within five miles of the Olympic Village.
The previous bid was hurt by a demonstration against hosting the Olympics during the evaluation commission’s visit, and organizers are hoping that there will be no repeat this time.
Public support is much higher this time thanks in part to Japan’s strong showing at the London Olympics. The latest poll showed that 73 percent support the Olympic bid.
