Madrid outlines plans for hosting 2020 Olympics
Madrid says hosting 2020 Olympics spotlights sporting history; many facilities in place
Alejandro Blanco, President of Madrid 2020 Organization, right, and Anna Botella, Mayor of Madrid, left, pose for photographers in front of the IOC headquarters before they submit candidature bid of 2020 Madrid Olympic summer games at the International Olympic Committee, IOC, headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Monday, Jan. 7, 2013. The International Olympic Committee announced that Istanbul, Tokyo and Madrid have made it on to the short list of cities bidding to host the 2020 Olympic Games. (AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott)
MADRID (AP) -- Madrid says its bid for the 2020 Olympics is strengthened by Spain's sporting excellence, the capital's qualities as a modern city and many existing facilities.
Speaking Tuesday at the city's town hall, Spanish Olympic Committee chief Alejandro Blanco says hosting the games would demonstrate "the importance sport has in this country."
Culture and Sports Minister Jose Ignacio Wert said the government was drafting new anti-doping legislation to protect sporting achievement.
Madrid Mayor Ana Botella says the bid features a frugal and realistic $1.9 billion budget made possible by use of many existing facilities in the recession-hit country, with only four permanent venues still to be built.
Madrid is competing against Istanbul and Tokyo. The IOC will select the host city on Sept. 7 in Buenos Aires.
