Madrid – Madrid's new mayor said Tuesday the city's bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics is viable despite its high debt, since most of the necessary investment has already been made.
“Among our aims, Madrid's effort to be an Olympic city has an important place – a commitment that we are renewing with our eyes on the 2020 Games,” the mayor, Ana Botella, said after being sworn in.
“To accomplish it, no new spending is needed until the International Olympic Committee's decision, because we have already built 80 percent of the necessary infrastructure.”
Madrid and five other candidate cities are due to submit their 2020 Games plans by February 25 to the committee, which will vote on the host city in September 2013. The other contenders are Baku, Doha, Istanbul, Rome and Tokyo.
Botella said Madrid was already working on reducing its debt, at a time when Spain faces tough public spending cuts under the conservative government that took power last week.
She said the Spanish capital's debt would reach 6.377 billion euros ($8.3 billion) by the end of 2011 and she intended to cut 3.112 billion euros from this figure by 2016. – Sapa-AFP