The race for the 2020 Olympics is officially underway and a crucial phase happened on Monday, Jan. 7, 2013, as three cities submitted their bids to the IOC. Madrid, Istanbul, and Tokyo all handed over documents on Monday to the International Olympic Committee in hopes of landing the 2020 Olympic Games, but the vote is still eight months away.
With their bids being submitted, this is going to lead to months and months of a global campaign between the three cities trying to win. They have all been defeated in previous bids, but that hasn't stopped them from trying again.
SEE: Kenya's capital Nairobi plans to bid for 2024 Olympics
This is Istanbul's fifth overall bid to host the Olympics Tokyo is bidding for a second consecutive time while Madrid is on its third bid in a row.
There is a lot included in each city's bid book:
- Master plan of venues
- Budgets
- Security
- Accommodations
- Financial guarantees
- Transportation
- And much more
SEE: Final medal count and standings for 2012 Olympics
Each of the three cities bidding for the Olympics will be visited by the IOC's evaluation commission in March before a meeting with the bidders in July. A host city will be officially selected on Sept. 7, 2013, by secret ballot in Buenos Aires.
SEE: Buffalo and Toronto thinking of of making co-host bid for 2024 Olympics
Rome was originally in the running for the 2020 Olympics but dropped out when refused financial support from the Italian government. The IOC officially cut Baku, Azerbaijan and Doha, Qatar.
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