Italian PM Decision on 2020 Looming

(ATR) Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti is not expected to make a decision on a Rome bid for the 2020 Olympics before this weekend, Around the Rings has learned.

A high-ranking official with the bid tells ATR that Monti is travelling in the United States and will not speak about the Olympics before he returns to Italy this weekend.

The bid had previously suggested to ATRthat Monti would make a decision by Thursday.

Monti is considering postponing Rome's 2020 bid to 2024 due to the ongoing debt crisis in Italy.

While there may be political reluctance to endorse Rome 2020, a group of 60 Italian athletes appealed to Monti to sign off on a 2020 campaign.

Included in the group are Olympic champions and Italian sport legends.

Stefano Baldini, marathon champion at the Athens Olympics, was quoted by Italian news agency AGI claiming a decision to skip 2020 would be short-sighted.

"It is an economically difficult time, but this is a long-term matter," he was quoted as saying.

"The Olympics are in 2020 and other countries are in trouble just like us. I am thinking for example of Spain, who are totally behind - their bid - and that's what we need to do, too."

Rome’s mayor, Gianni Alemanno, thanked the athletes for their support.

"There's a strong awareness that hosting the Games would be a great chance for the revival for all of Italy, which we shouldn't let slip away in this difficult moment of crisis," Alemanno said.

The six 2020 bid cities all face a deadline of Feb. 15 to submit bid dossiers to the IOC. In preparation for the day, and perhaps indicating confidence that Monti would back the 2020 bid, Rome 2020 announced its delegation that will travel to Lausanne to deliver the document.

Ernesto Albanese, Managing Director of Rome 2020, will lead the six-member delegation.

He will be joined by Rosella Sensi, Assessor for the 2020 Olympic Bid, City of Rome; Rossana Ciuffetti, Sport Director, National Olympic Committee of Italy; Jury Chechi, Olympic Champion and Sport Director, Rome 2020; Immacolata Cerasuolo, Paralympic Champion; and Robert Fasulo, Senior Advisor, International Relations, Rome 2020.

Baku, Doha, Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo are the other 2020 bid cities.

Written by Ed Hula III.

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