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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted at 1:22 a.m., Friday, April 10, 2009

Olympics: Tokyo set for inspection team in 2016 bid

Associated Press

TOKYO — Tokyo will showcase the support of its citizens when the International Olympic Committee's inspection team visits next week to evaluate its bid to host the 2016 Olympics.

Citizens have been given bid badges to show their support and will take part in Tokyo 2016 sports events and festivals during the inspection team's April 16-19 visit.

"Next week is the most important week of my life," Tokyo 2016 chairman Ichiro Kono said Friday. "But it's not just about me or the Tokyo 2016 bid committee; we are enjoying fantastic domestic support in Tokyo and across Japan for our bid."

With 34 million people, Tokyo is the world's largest metropolitan area, but organizers say their bid offers the most compact games, with almost all venues located less than five miles from the main stadium.

Tokyo, which hosted the 1964 Olympics, says 23 of its proposed 34 venues already exist and that land has been secured for the 11 new facilities.

Five of the new venues would be permanent, including the main Olympic stadium on the city's central waterfront that would hold 100,000 spectators for track and field events and the opening and closing ceremonies.

Tokyo is also boasting the financial security of its bid amid the global economic downturn. The city of Tokyo has about a $66 billion annual budget and has already secured a $4 billion special budget in cash for the games.

The IOC will vote on the host city in Copenhagen on Oct. 2. Tokyo is competing with Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro.