Spanish Olympic Committe (COE) President Alejandro Blanco, who is also president of the Madrid 2020 Olympic bid, emphasized on Sunday that there are "many possibilities" for Madrid to win the bid when the decision regarding the host city is made on Sept. 7, according to the EP. Blanco: "We hope to continue and that we win the bid on Sept. 7. Today, Madrid has many possibilities. What is clear is that there is no project better than ours." During a meeting with IOC President Jacques Rogge, Blanco also highlighted that "it will not only be Spain's Olympic Games, it will also mean a form of understanding sport and the Olympic movement." Blanco said, "We have been receiving opinions from people that have nothing to do with the candidacy, that work in the international environment, and the comments are positive toward Spain." Blanco also met with Olympic committee presidents from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Colombia and Argentina, explaining a COE-Murcia University training program that can be applied in those countries (EP, 6/16).
DAMAGE CONTROL: The EFE reported that Spanish State Commerce secretary Jaime García-Legaz appeared confident that Spain's economic crisis will not put Madrid's candidacy in danger. García-Legaz: "Spain's general economic foundation and the the Madrid 2020 budget in particular are solid, diverse and totally capable of supporting the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Spain will have stable growth in the next five years. Spain has the greatest potential growth in the next decade of the five major European economies" (EFE, 6/15).
