81% of Spaniards back Madrid’s Olympic bid

The team behind Madrid's candidacy bid for the 2020 Olympic Games

Madrid’s bid for the 2020 Olympic Games is supported by 81 per cent of Spaniards, according to Spain’s minister of Education, Culture and Sport, Jose Ignacio Wert, and the president of the Community of Madrid, Ignacio Gonzalez.

All week, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is in Madrid to evaluate the Spanish capital’s bid, which is backed by all of Spain’s main political parties and the majority of the Spanish public…

Approval for Madrid’s bid is higher than for previous attempts at the 2012 and 2016 Games, largely because of the country’s economic situation and the financial boost London and the UK experienced last summer after hosting a highly successful Games.

This is the fourth consecutive Games that Madrid has bid for, falling at the last hurdle in 2016 and the penultimate round in 2012. The budget for this fourth bid is thought to be between €20m and €30m, which will be money well spent if Madrid finally gets its reward for persistence, if nothing else.

Spain has hosted the Olympic Games only once before, in 1992 when Barcelona delivered a memorable spectacle to the world.

The winning bid will be announced on September 7 at the 125^th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Here’s hoping Madrid can make it fourth-time lucky.