THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ROME — Rome was selected as Italy’s bid city for the 2020 Summer Olympics on Wednesday, beating out Venice in vote by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI).
Rome hosted the 1960 Games and was upset by Athens in the voting for the 2004 Games.
Venice was eliminated from contention before the final vote, with an internal CONI evaluation committee ruling the bid insufficient. With the vote simply a formality, Rome won 68 to 1.
Rome proposes a budget of US$61 million, with a bid that includes 70 per cent of already existing venues. The bid is centred around two central areas, the Foro Italico that was the centre of the 1960 Games and features the 80,000-seat Stadio Olimpico, and a new sports centre in Tor Vergata on the outskirts of Rome, which is currently under construction.
Other potentials bids for 2020 could come from South Africa (Durban, Johannesburg or Cape Town); Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Tokyo or Hiroshima, Japan; Istanbul; and Budapest, Hungary.
The International Olympic Committee will decide on the host in 2013.
