47% public support..Tokyo's achilles heel?

[AK30]

I really think no matter how prepared the city of Tokyo is or how well suited they are to hosting the games. With such low public support should the IOC really award the games to a city, where the people simply don't want it?...How much do you guys think should be the minimum percentage of support a city should have before being awarded the games?

With Istanbul and Madrid over 70% public support, I would think Tokyo should be at least expected to have over 60%. I simply don't think its good enough to expect the support to rise after being awarded the games. By September 2013 it should be over 60%, any less I'd say is unacceptable...Therefore is public support Tokyo's Achilles heel?...I think so...Do others agree?

[intoronto]

47? I thought it was higher? It might be the achilles heel!

[emre]

Tokyo,Japan was host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games!!! NOT Madrid and and NOT Doba and NOT Turkey's capital and Tokyo WINS!!!!

Turkey's capitol is Ankara not Istanbul

[deawebo]

Well is all up to Istanbul now! JEAH

What really shocks me is that Tokyo's bid is the best (technically and economically talking) and is really competitive, but with public support lower than in the 2016 they can't win... Sorry for Tokyo

[Rob2012]

Rubbish, of course they can win. This is their achilles heel, but is it more of a problem than Madrid's finances, Barcelona 1992, Istanbul's spread out plan, Euro 2020 or the Tukish city's transport? I don't think so.

If we start seeing major outright hostility then Tokyo's chances will be gone, but low public support is not a killer blow to a bid and is certainly something than can be changed.

If this is Tokyo's biggest problem they're set fair.

[Athensfan]

Public support is an issue for them, but I believe it will be above 60% when the IOC does their poll. As long as its above 60%, I think they are just fine-- even if their numbers are the lowest of the 3. If they drop below 50%, that's a crisis that will probably doom the bid, but I really dont see that happening. I don't put much stock in the 47% because it was taken so early.

[baron-pierreIV]

I don't know if I can stand another Japanese Opening Ceremony. The one at Nagano was so corny and kitschy. Tokyo really does NOT deserve another Olympics.

[Athensfan]

I don't know if I can stand another Japanese Opening Ceremony. The one at Nagano was so corny and kitschy. Tokyo really does NOT deserve another Olympics.

I think the Japanese have learned enough to avoid repeating Nagano's OC (which I didn't care for either). They saw Beijing. They won't go bland and serious. They won't go kitschy.

As for "deserving" the Games, I wouldn't use the Nagano OC as my criteria. Japan is an economic and sporting power that consistently finishes among top medal winning nations. By 2020, they won't have hosted the Summer Olympics for over 50 years. They're the most reliable of the three candidate cities and Tokyo is one of the world's three greatest metropolises. All that is compelling.

[Gold Coast Lions]

47% for a city of 35 Million people that is very good number about 16 million people support the Bid and like 8 Million tickets will be sold for the Games it is still a good number Istanbul Turkey got 13.5 million people and Madrid Spain 6.5 Million people there will be a great enough interest for the Tokyo 2020 Games, Japan have a stable economy Spain is bankrupted and my friend is an economist and said that Turkey bubble is going to burst with in the year and the current government is spending more then earning and once the Turkey bubble burst then things will be bad for Turkey.

I still think that Tokyo Japan could be very well in it to win it it is going to be close between Istanbul Turkey and Tokyo Japan.

[nykfan845]

I don't know if I can stand another Japanese Opening Ceremony. The one at Nagano was so corny and kitschy. Tokyo really does NOT deserve another Olympics.

So you don't want another Japan Games because you're afraid of a corny Opening Ceremony. What else is new?

[baron-pierreIV]

So you don't want another Japan Games because you're afraid of a corny Opening Ceremony. What else is new?

And where have you been? Why is so much importance put on Opening Ceremonies these days, and some say it's a make-or-break marker. So, yeah, if you can anticipate a lousy or exciting Opening Ceremony, then that's what I would base on awarding a Games on. And what would you base your Games on? The traditional markers of a good plan, decent venues, etc.? Think outside the box. Those markers are too boring really.

[nykfan845]

You say thinking out of the box. I say you're shallow.

[Athensfan]

While the OC absolutely sets the mood for the whole Games and is very important to creating an overall impression, you gotta have venues, a village, decent transportation, funding, sports organization experience, etc. Those technical components ( along with the cultural X-factor that is likely to color the OC) are the right measuring stick for Olympic bids.

Baron, think of your own view of Istanbul. You've cooled on them as a candidate because you see their serious transportation problems. Your change of heart had nothing to do with the OC. In fact, one could argue that the OC in a purpose-built stadium on the Bosphorus showcasing Turkish culture could be absolutely splendid. I would think that would be enough to make you salivate.....

[Boris-K]

The only reason that I support Tokyo is Paris 2024

[baron-pierreIV]

I would think that would be enough to make you salivate.....

That's NOT good enuf. Even that would be logistically challenging for Istanbul --if NOT doable at all.

here's the thing, all things being equal...venues, plans, financing, legacy, etc., etc. -- or if the practicalities and/or impracticalities are out of the way, then the decider will have to be who has the potential to stage the MORE spectacular Ceremonies. Who'll give the Games those bonus points? That for me is the kicker for a tough race like for 2020.

[Athensfan]

That's NOT good enuf. Even that would be logistically challenging for Istanbul --if NOT doable at all.

here's the thing, all things being equal...venues, plans, financing, legacy, etc., etc. -- or if the practicalities and/or impracticalities are out of the way, then the decider will have to be who has the potential to stage the MORE spectacular Ceremonies. Who'll give the Games those bonus points? That for me is the kicker for a tough race like for 2020.

Methinks you're flying solo on that one.

Among other things everything else is never equal....

[baron-pierreIV]

Methinks you're flying solo on that one.

Among other things everything else is never equal....

Yeah, that's just me!! There's only one!!

[dancingbrogues]

Very interesting that the Tokyo Bid Committee in the last few days have started positioning their youtube campaign squarely at winning over Tokyojin. It's as if they realise the low public enthusiasm may stall their hopes. Pictures of happy foreigners, and further clips of asking Londoners what the games meant to them, and then asking people what they would think of a Tokyo 2020 games.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jkUSHEXx5o

And here's a link, d'oh.

[Tutankamon]

Turkey's capitol is Ankara not Istanbul

well said emre looool

[msp2032]

The "timing issue" may be what's against tokyo. With the 2018 Winter games in South Korea will the IOC allow the olympics to held in Asia just two years later?

[gotosy]

Tokyo Olympic bid committee says support up after London games

Public support in Tokyo for its bid for the 2020 Olympics increased after

the London Games, according to the Tokyo Olympic bid committee.

In preparation for future PR strategy planning, phone polling was conducted on 400 people in Tokyo over 18 years of age in July and August. The committee says that before the London Olympics support for the bid was at 58 percent, opposition was at 16 percent, while 26 percent had no opinion on the subject, but after the London Olympics support was at 66 percent, opposition was at 14 percent, and no opinion was at 20 percent.

Polling by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released in May,

however, showed lower support, with only 47 percent in Tokyo supporting the bid, 23 percent being opposed, and 30 percent offering no opinion. Low public support is seen by the Tokyo committee as an obstacle to it winning the bid.

The Tokyo committee says its survey was done in a way similar to the IOC's poll, and that Japan's winning of a record 38 medals at the London Games and a victory parade in the capital increased Tokyo residents' support.

An official of the committee office said, "It's important that we sustain the excitement. We have to work to raise the support level even further."

September 13, 2012(Mainichi Japan)

http://mainichi.jp/e...0sp009000c.html

[Rob2012]

Well, the IOC will conduct its own polls again during the Evaluation visits, but it seems Tokyo is plugging its holes more effectively than its rivals. The victory parade reminds me of the one London had after the Athens Games, a point at which I think London's bid really came into its own. Tokyo's 'problems' always looked easier to overcome than Istanbul's and Madrid's and I think, if anything, the Japanese are looking even stronger now post-London. I think they've pulled out in front a little further.

[gotosy]

october numbers

Public support for Tokyo's 2020 Olympic bid on the rise according to bid committee survey

TOKYO - Tokyo's 2020 Olympic bid committee says public support for hosting the games is increasing among residents of the Japanese capital, contradicting an earlier International Olympic Committee poll.

The committee's latest figures show that 67% of Tokyo residents are now supporting the bid's effort to host the Olympics. The latest figures are from a survey taken in October.

A poll by the IOC in May found that only 47 per cent of Tokyo residents supported the bid.

The latest poll comes after the London Olympics where Japanese athletes won 38 medals, the most in the nation's history.

IOC members will select either Tokyo, Istanbul or Madrid as 2020 host in September 2013.

AP

http://ca.sports.yah...43137--oly.html

[gotosy]

Recent poll shows public support for Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics on the rise

TOKYO — Public support for Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics is on the rise according to a recent survey conducted by bid organizers.

Tokyo organizers said Wednesday that nearly 73 percent of those polled support the bid to host the games, up 26 points from a survey conducted by the International Olympic Committee in May 2012.

Tokyo, which hosted the 1964 Olympics and finished third in the voting for 2016, is competing against Istanbul and Madrid. The IOC will select the host city in a secret ballot at Buenos Aires on Sept. 7. Istanbul has an approval rating of 93 percent while Madrid stands at 80 percent.

One of Tokyo’s weaknesses in its campaign to host the 2016 games was public support. “We know public support was a challenge for us last time,” Tokyo 2020 president Tsunekazu Takeda said. ‘So we are delighted by this very strong result.”

Tokyo organizers say enthusiasm for the bid has been growing since Japan’s strong performance at the London Olympics.

AP

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/recent-poll-shows-public-support-for-tokyos-bid-to-host-the-2020-olympics-on-the-rise/2013/01/30/42460cda-6aab-11e2-9a0b-db931670f35d_story.html

[Rob2012]

Brilliant news on the face of it, plugging one of the few holes the bid has. But we've seen disparities between Tokyo's own polls and the IOC's polling the past. Will be interesting to see whether these numbers stay the same when the IOC does their own polling for the Evaluation Reports.