So we have our first official carry over from the 2016 race. Based off my knowledge of their last bid, here are some of their strengths:
- Many existing venues already in place.
- They do seem to have a basic swell of support in the IOC that they can count on
- Great public support (90%+ from their 2016 bid)
- Very solid public transit
- Positive history as previous hosts
Some weaknesses I can already see:
- Hosted in 1992, and is a smallish country to host a SOG so soon.
- Lacks JAS now. Interesting to see how far they can get in the voting rounds without him.
- Doesn't have much of an "it" factor if you ask me. The city is not a mega international city like London, Paris or NYC, and to me it does not have too much natural beauty to it either.
I have no doubts Madrid will put forth a solid bid again. Many of their venues are already in place, so they may play the "most sensible" bid card. Problem is, the IOC has not shown an interest in going the "sensible" route, but more the "compelling" route. They need to some how muster a compelling bid this time. I thought their 2016 bid looked a bit childish. I would have preferred more sleek, but still with a keen approach to find ways to attract young people to their bid. They had fantastic public support, so that should not be a problem for them this time either. I don't see the financial crisis reigning too much on their parade, and may not even be much of an issue in 2013.
Past history says not to count Madrid out. The IOC might just want to send another message to future bids saying "persistence pays off". Especially if they get a low amount of bids for 2020.