Hiroshima & Nagasaki for 2020 Olympics?

Written By: guyjin on October 12, 2009 13 Comments

On Sunday, the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki announced that they will be teaming up to develop a proposal to host the 2020 Summer Olympics. This comes just over a week after Tokyo were rejected as hosts of the 2016 games.

Given the recent climate of international bodies offering awards for issues they believe in (nobel prize….?), this could be a very savvy move by the two cities. Mayor Akiba Tadatoshi of Hiroshima and Mayor Taue Tomihisa have suggested that their bid will be based on the issue of world peace, and that 2020 could be a great target for the world to abolish nuclear weapons, with the Olympics to be a celebration of such an endeavor…

I’ve already discussed my views on the issue of nuclear proliferation, and I find the Mayor’s statements rather naive. Still, if there are two places on the earth that I can understand having such views, it is Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and I can’t fault them for their passion and desire.

It is unclear whether or not Tokyo will bid again for 2020, a move which would almost certainly dissuade Hiroshima and Nagasaki from going ahead. Fukuoka had hoped to bid in 2016, but was unable to compete with Tokyo, and only one bid per country is allowed. I can imagine that a bid from Hiroshima and Nagasaki would cost an awful lot of money, especially since they wouldn’t have anywhere near the number of potential venues that Tokyo has. Whether or not it would be worth the money is a matter for consideration. But there is no question that a bid from Hiroshima and Nagasaki would bring with it a great deal of emotional cache, which is something that could well sway IOC voters… It would certainly be more difficult to say no to two cities that have seen such devastation.

Istanbul, Budapest and Delhi have already shown some interest in hosting the 2020 games. Other potential candidates include Durban, Dubai, Rome, Madrid, St Petersburg, and St. Paul/Minneapolis.