International Olympic Committee (IOC) inspectors wrapped up on Sunday their evaluation of Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Olympics, saying they are "impressed by the compact concept" of hosting the Games.
"We are very impressed by the compact concept with the vision of hosting the Olympics within an 8-km radius," Nawal El Moutawakel, chairwoman of the IOC evaluation commission, told a press conference.
However, El Moutawakel refused to compare Tokyo with Chicago which they visited earlier, as well as other candidate cities.
Tokyo's promise of solid financial support, high environment awareness, and government commitment also left strong impression on the delegates, El Moutawakel said.
The IOC officials kicked off their evaluation of the Japanese capital on April 16, when Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, who himself was an Olympian competing in the 1976 Montreal Games, delivered a presentation on Tokyo's bid.
During the four-day visit, the delegation were briefed on infrastructure, accommodation, transportation and many other aspects of Tokyo's bid plan.
The IOC delegates on Friday inspected three sites proposed for Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics, where they were greeted by a small group of protesters chanting "Tokyo doesn't need Olympics", which once again raised questions about public support rate.
Gilbert Felli, IOC's Olympic Games Executive Director, said the evaluation team could not disclose the support rate of Tokyo conducted by the IOC for the time being.
"You will know the result by September in the finalized report," he said.
But Tokyo's governor Shintaro Ishihara hinted IOC official survey's result might not be very satisfactory.
"Their poll was done quite a long time ago," Ishihara said. "A survey by the world's largest newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun a month ago showed the support rate was 74 percent, which greatly encouraged us,"
"Going forward the number will certainly grow," he added.
Financial support is one of Tokyo's strongholds. Despite the economic slump, Tokyo has 400 billion yen (4 billion U.S. dollars) already in the bank, enough to cover building costs for the venues, infrastructure and sports facilities, according to the government.
Japan also hopes to stage a sustainable and green Games. It said 23 of its proposed 34 venues already exist, many of which are inherited from the 1964 Summer Games, while the land for the rest 11 venues has been secured by the Tokyo municipal government. Solar energy will also be widely used to provide a "carbon-minus Olympics."
Tokyo, competing against Chicago, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro, is the second stop on the Evaluation Commission's schedule after Chicago. The IOC will vote on the host city in Copenhagen on Oct. 2.
(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2009)
