Istanbul impressed IOC members

Istanbul bid leader Hasan Arat said that the city had given a good impression to the visiting International Olympic Committee (IOC) members, but acknowledged that the race to host the 2020 Olympic Games was far from over. Arat told CNN Türk that Istanbul impressed the IOC Evaluation Commission during their four-day visit to the candidate city. "Technically and politically, Istanbul came through the visit very positively," he said as the visit wrapped up yesterday. "But we need to continue lobbying with businessmen and intellectuals. There are still four months and we need to work carefully." After four failed bids, Istanbul has made it to the final for the first time. The city is racing against Tokyo and Madrid. The IOC will vote for the 2020 host city in Buenos Aires in September. Arat highlighted that Istanbul was an "attractive" choice as a first-time host, since Tokyo hosted the 1964 Games and Spain hosted the Olympics in Barcelona in 1992. "Turkey has so much to offer the world," Arat said, adding that awarding the Olympic Games to a Turkish city would send an important message to the region regarding the country's secular democracy and stable economy. Istanbul's Olympic investment budget is $19.3 billion, about 10 times that of Madrid and also larger than Tokyo's ($4.9 billion). "Many of the IOC members were visiting Turkey for the first time in many years," Arat said. "They were surprised by the private sector's power and support for the Games."