Madrid 2020, the Spanish capital shortlisted to host the Olympics that year, has vowed not to rely on international advisers in its bid to bring the games to the city for the first time.
In a move away from a now established pattern in Olympics host city bidding campaigns, Madrid 2020 has not employed a consultancy to lobby International Olympic Committee members; its campaign will instead be driven by local people “with Madrid in their heart,” rather than those “only interested in the economics.”
Madrid 2020 will soon announce the hiring of an international communications agency to assist on the public relations side of the bid as it gathers momentum, but lobbying will be left to the country’s three IOC members – Juan Antonio Samaranch, Marisol Casado and José Perurena.
Theresa Zabell, chief executive of international relations, explained: “I know that if we do not win the vote to host the 2020 games in 2013, members of our team will not be working on another [city’s] Olympic bid in three, four or five years’ time. Our team is made up of athletes who have competed for Spain in the Olympics and who know what it means to compete at a games.
“This bid is in their heart. They want it for Madrid. They wouldn’t have the same passion to say the same things for another city.”
Madrid is competing against Tokyo and Istanbul for the right to stage the 2020 Olympic Games, both of which have formed a strong core of international advisers.
The 2020 Olympic Games will be awarded at the IOC session in Buenos Aires, Argentina on September 7, 2013.
