Samaranch: Madrid 2020 would restore Spanish pride

Madrid winning the right to host the 2020 Olympic Games would restore pride to Spain, boost the morale of the Spanish people and also create much-needed jobs, Spanish International Olympic Committee member Juan Antonio Samaranch told AFP on Monday. The 53-year-old, son of the late long-time IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch, added a Madrid Games would present the Olympic Movement with an efficient new model for the global sporting showpiece in the 21st century. Madrid, which is bidding for the third successive time having finished third for the 2012 Games and runners-up to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 renewal, is seen by the bookmakers as the outsider of the three candidates. The Spanish captial, favourites Tokyo - who are the only one to have previously hosted the Games in 1964 but who finished behind Madrid in the 2016 vote - and Istanbul will learn their fate in Buenos Aires on September 7 when the 100-plus IOC members vote. Samaranch, an engineer by training but a banker by profession, said by phone from Madrid they were not asking the IOC to save a country in the midst of a dreadful financial crisis but, were they to vote them as hosts, they would engineer a revival in the country's fortunes. "Madrid is a rare case where the majority of the investment and sacrifices have already been made," said Samaranch, who sits on the elite IOC Executive Board. "The previous two bids honoured their promise in that, despite sadly not winning the Games, they still built the infrastructure. Thus we have the hotels, the ring roads, the high speed train link and the airport as well as 28 of the 35 venues. "A winning bid would restore pride to the nation, boost the country's morale and create jobs. "The IOC members' mission is not to revive Spain but a vote in our favour would have an effect that we would appreciate internally." Easing the unemployment rate would be most welcome as it has risen to unprecedented levels in Spain. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government is forecasting an end-2012 unemployment rate of 24.6 percent, with a decline to 23.3 percent in 2013. But the OECD economic body has forecast that unemployment will continue to climb and reach 26.9 percent in 2014. Samaranch, though, said that there were signs that the reforms introduced by the Rajoy government were beginning to have an impact. "The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and the Economist are changing their tune a little bit," he said. "The WSJ had a report last week where they said the government had been right not to ask for the rescue package from the European Union and IMF and that Spain has introduced some of the necessary reforms without asking for the bailout. "Although we are in dire straits things are working a little better. "Economic circumstances can change. Look at London when they won their economy was strong and by the time they hosted them it had gone the other way." Samaranch, married with four children, said Madrid's message was clear to the IOC. "We won't ask them to save Spain but tell them the way we can help in the current environment is not leaving a useless legacy such as stadia that never get used again and make sure that this is an efficient new model for the 21st century Games. "Effectively this is the way where the Olympic movement is going." Samaranch, who admitted he had been surprised at the enthusiasm and popular support for a third successive bid, said it was perplexing to see how quickly the country's fortunes had declined. "We were a wonderful country five years ago with a strong economy and then all of a sudden it all changed," he said. "We in the Madrid bid need to jump start that economy, to provide the spark for the country's revival." Samaranch, who said Spain's history of hosting sporting events meant it was part of the country's DNA, said winning the Games would not mean anything special because of who his father was. "Being his son I am very partial about what he did for the IOC and I do recognise his achievements," he said. "However, we are not asking the IOC based on his memory. He fought very hard for the 2012 and 2016 bids but it wasn't to be. We have him in our memories and is a source of great pride. "But this bid is about building for future generations, not the past." From : AFP