Organizers Open Sports Bidding For 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games

Japanese Olympic organizers opened the application process on Monday for sports "hoping to be added" to the 2020 Tokyo Games, according to the AP. The Tokyo organizing committee "launched a two-stage procedure that gives the host city a chance to add one or more sports to the program." Baseball and softball, which have been "off the Olympic program since the 2008 Beijing Games, are considered favorites because of their popularity in Japan." Other possibilities include squash, karate, skateboarding and surfing. In all, 33 int'l sports federations have been "invited to apply by a June 8 deadline." The IOC will "make the final decision" in August '16 at its meeting in Rio de Janeiro (AP, 5/11).