Indonesia is "optimistic about bringing the Olympics to Southeast Asia in collaboration with one of their neighbors" after the IOC "revamp of the bidding and hosting processes," according to Patrick Johnston of REUTERS.
Earlier this month, IOC members "voted to allow multiple cities and countries to host events at future Games, one of a number of sweeping reforms to the Olympic movement brought by President Thomas Bach." Indonesia Olympic Committee President Rita Subowo said, "We strongly support these proposals and are very optimistic about hosting the Olympics in ASEAN in the future. All the potential is there if we can overcome certain limitations." Thai IOC member Nat Indrapana "saw other issues." He said, "Co-hosting in principle is a good idea but the practical implementation of this proposal also creates a lot of other problems. With two countries involved, who gets what can become an issue" (REUTERS, 12/16).
THE RIGHT PLACE? REUTERS reported Fukushima "is keen to show it has fully recovered from the 2011 nuclear disaster by hosting some events for the 2020 summer Olympics in Tokyo."
The governor of the north-eastern prefecture "held talks with his Tokyo counterpart on Tuesday to discuss the matter." Masao Uchibori: "We need to set a goal so that we can show how much Fukushima has recovered" (REUTERS, 12/16).
