Istanbul 2020: Alliance of Civilizations

Turkey is ready to host the Games that will stabilise the world, says Yalcin Aksoy, General Director of the Istanbul Olympic Bidding Committee

Looking at Istanbul now, it is hard to understand how not one of its four consecutive bids - for the 1998, 2002, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games - made the top grade. The city clearly has the prerequisite desire and ability to host the Games. It is also uniquely positioned to bring the Olympic Movement to the doorstep of the Muslim world.

Yalcini Aksoy (left), IOC President Rogge (centre) and
Turkish NOC President, Toagay Bayatlı (right)

"You need the will to do it and no one can deny how determined we are because we have bid four times," says Yalcin Aksoy, General Director of the Istanbul Olympic Bidding Committee (IOBC). "In the last poll we made during the 2012 candidacy, 89 per cent of the population in Istanbul and 86 per cent in Turkey were in favour of the bid.

Istanbul was short-listed as a candidate city for the 2008 Games, but economic factors ultimately derailed the bid. "When it was chosen as a candidate city, we were in a national economic crisis. We were surprised we didn't make the short-list again for 2012 because four years later there was no trace of a crisis. When they chose not short-list us, we already had the Olympic stadium built. The accommodation infrastructure was better by 20 per cent. Istanbul was a better city than when it was short-listed."

Unlike any other bidding city, Istanbul has been putting one stone over the other for the past 17 years. "Most unsuccessful candidature committees give up - but we have a permanent public body that keeps on turning all the elements of the bid into reality."

The IOBC chose not to bid for 2016 and is emerging from this hiatus in an even stronger position. "We are recovering from the global recession much faster than other European countries. The overall yield of the Istanbul Stock Exchange National-100 index has reached 69.9 per cent, providing the greatest return of any major equity market in the world. Turkey, as the 17th largest economy in the world, is now a member of the G20: the economic capabilities of the country are easily sufficient to host the Games."

Istanbul's progress towards hosting the Olympic Games is paralleled by Turkey's quest to join the European Union. "Winning the Olympic Games would help Turkey's entry into the EU," says Aksoy.

Investing in infrastructure
The financial guarantees of the 1992 Turkish Olympic Law have allowed huge expansion of the city's sports infrastructure. Over the last 17 years, the IOBC has spent USD 268m on its "Olympic Project", 86 per cent of which has been spent on 10 new and nine modernised sports venues. This includes the Ataturk Olympic Stadium, making Turkey the only country in the world to have built its Olympic stadium without having first been awarded the right to host the games.

Other proposed venues under construction include the near-complete "Sinan Erdem Dome", a venue for the 2010 World Basketball Championships. A further 8 per cent of IOBC's expenditure has gone towards hosting international sports events in Istanbul - so the bid committee is already working as an organising committee.

These high levels of spending on sport infrastructure pale into insignificance against the vast amounts Istanbul is investing in urban infrastructure. New public transportation projects to the tune of USD 16bn are underway to solve the problems of congestion and pollution in the city. The biggest and the most expensive of these projects is "Marmaray", the 76km underground and underwater high-speed rail tunnel that will link Europe and Asia beneath the Bosporus by the end of 2010.

Additional rail lines are being built with the objective of having 560km of rail in the city by 2012. A new terminal is being built at Istanbul's second airport, Sabiha Gokcen, and construction of a third bridge across the Bosporus will start in 2011.

A legacy of sound infrastructure is essential, but is not enough to win the Games, says Aksoy. "For any city that is able to organise the Games, there must be some long-lasting preparation. Legacy is a must, but it is not a differentiating factor as all cities now have a sound legacy plan - why would they bid otherwise?"

Bringing democracy - peacefully
Istanbul's differentiating factors are strong. The Cultural Capital of Europe in 2010 has also been the capital of three great Empires: Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. Today, Turkey is a country where moderate Islam thrives alongside a secular state dedicated to parliamentary democracy. "Turkey is the only country that has demonstrated that democracy and progress are fully compatible with being an Islamic nation," says Aksoy.

Istanbul spans two continents and bridges east and west, not only geographically but economically, politically and culturally. "Istanbul offers the opportunity to stage the Games in a country with a predominantly Muslim population for the first time in history."

Turkey is playing an active role in overcoming the rift between the west and the Muslim world. The Prime Ministers of Turkey and Spain are co-sponsoring the UN's global peace initiative, "Alliance of Civilizations", to increase peaceful contact between western and Islamic nations. The Olympic Charter defines the purpose of the IOC as building a better and more peaceful world through sport - and Istanbul is uniquely placed to help the IOC fulfil this ideal. Aksoy quotes Victor Hugo, saying: "There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come."

He continues: "What stands in the way of peace these days is the problem of terrorism resulting from the clash of civilisations. Peace is disturbed in the main between two civilisations - Islam and the western world. Having the Games here will act as a catalyst for peace. The Istanbul Games will have a strong legacy, not only for the city and the country, but also for the whole world. In Islamic and western civilisation, the perspectives will change. Promoting peace seems to be intangible compared with venues and infrastructure - but it is as important."

Aksoy strongly refutes the suggestion that bringing the largely western Olympic ideals to the threshold of the Muslim world could increase the risk of terrorism. "The Olympic Games are as likely to attract terrorism in London or New York as in Istanbul. It has nothing to do with proximity to Islamic countries."

Touch the wet paint
Istanbul's aims are undoubtedly high. "We have a vision. We also know that every vision must have an underpinning of realism, if it is ever to be achieved. Istanbul possesses the conceptual and material elements of success. This is neither optimism nor over confidence. It is a realistic assessment of conditions that exist in Istanbul.

"Tell someone that there are 400 billion stars out there and the person will believe you. Tell him that a bench has wet paint and the person has to touch it, just to make sure you are right. The paint is wet and all we want is for the IOC to touch it."