IOC President Thomas Bach said that the governing body "must do a better job of explaining the merits" of hosting the Olympics to cities considering an application, according to Stephanie Nebehay of REUTERS. Bach, asked about cities losing referendums and others choosing not to bid to host the Games, said, "We have to explain, explain and explain. It is obvious that we have to explain our system of bidding and organisation of the Games better. That means we have to show that this is a very transparent procedure from the very beginning." Referring to the drive for reforms under the IOC's Agenda 2020, Bach said that it was up to the candidate cities to "say how the Games fit into their environment and which investments they planned to develop their city and region." Bach: "And then not blaming at the end the IOC movement for infrastructure projects they wanted to do anyway and using the Games just as a catalyst because they know that without the Games they would never have got the approval to put them in place." Bach, asked about reports 2020 host Japan may consider using some existing venues rather than building all new ones, said that the coordination commission "was in discussion with the organising committee." Bach: "The message we are giving is the same. We are open for this discussion and if there are more sustainable solutions ensuring the quality of the venue for the athletes, then we are absolutely open for discussion" (REUTERS, 7/10).
