Bidding for the Games: IOC Readies Youth Olympics Short List

Five Cities Could Make Youth Olympics Short List

Up to five cities could be selected by the IOC to make up the short list for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, sources tell Around the Rings.

Nine cities are in the running for the inaugural games: Athens, Bangkok, Debrecen, Guatemala City, Kuala Lumpur, Moscow, Poznan, Singapore and Turin.

The IOC Executive Board will conduct a postal vote this weekend to determine the shortlist, which will be published on Nov. 19, along with a report by IOC experts on the technical aspects of each bid.

With the publication of the short list will come plans for immediate visits to the cities by an evaluation team from the IOC which will likely examine specific parts of the bid and not conduct a wholesale review of each city.

The IOC Executive Board will consider the results of those visits in December when it meets in Lausanne, possibly cutting the short list even further.

The full IOC will vote by post in February to select a finalist.

Athens 2010 Website Live

Athens is showcasing its Youth Olympic Games bid book and 2010 vision on a new website.

The bid would put the Olympic Village in the 2004 media accommodations at Aghios Andreas Marina. Ancient Olympia is the proposed venue for shot put and beach wrestling. The 26-sport roster mirrors the Beijing schedule, minus baseball and softball, and with a smaller list of events.

Hellenic Olympic Committee president Minos Kyriakou heads the bid, which includes Athens Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis and IOC member from Greece Lambis Nikolaou.

The IOC will release a shortlist of YOG candidate cities on Nov. 19. Nine cities submitted candidature files.

Budapest Boosters Draft 2020 Legislation

The board of the Budapest Olympics Movement has started circulating the text of an Olympics Act that it hopes parliament will pass next year.

The Olympics Act, if approved, would ensure national-level political and social support for a 2020 Budapest Olympic bid, according to a BOM statement.

The BOM is floating the text in Budapest city hall and among the five political parties in Hungary's parliament.

Founded in 2005, the BOM is a coalition of the city's business and civic leaders working to bring a Games to Budapest.

Istanbul Talks 2020 at Conference

The president of the National Olympic Committee of Turkey told an audience in Istanbul this week that the environment and transportation are the top factors in a city's bid to host the Games.

Togay Bayatli moderated a discussion at ForumIstanbul's International Conference for Urban Regeneration and Real Estate Investments.

The Monday morning session explored Olympics and urban renewal with panel members including the general manager of the Barcelona Games Pedro Fontana Istanbul's Ataturk Olympic Stadium has hosted a UEFA Champions League final, but never the Olympics. (Getty Images)Garcia, Athens 2004 Executive Director Yannis Pyrgiotis and London 2012 consultant Andrew C. Taylor.

Also speaking was a vice president of the China Overseas Engineering Group – a company with 2008 Games infrastructure contracts.

Zhao Xiang told the gathered national politicians, business leaders, journalists and others about the upgrades to Beijing's transport system for 2008.

The NOCT has announced plans for a 2020 bid. Turkey did not bid for the 2016 Games, but did bid for the previous four Summer editions.

Benelux Confirms 2018 Football Interest

The presidents of the football federations of Belgium and the Netherlands journeyed to Zurich on Nov. 14 to officially inform FIFA president Sepp Blatter of their interest in a joint bid for the 2018 World cup.

Written by Maggie Lee.