Tokyo Bids for 2016 Olympics

By Akiko Fujita

Tokyo
01 October 2009

The International Olympic Committee will announce the host city for the 2016 Summer Games on Friday. Four cities are competing, including Tokyo. The capital of Japan is the only contender to have held the Olympics before - and the public is not exactly supporting a second run.

Large posters reading "Tokyo 2016" tower from buildings at Tokyo's Yoyogi Park. The site of the 1964 Olympic Games would be the location of the 2016 Summer Games if Tokyo is selected.

But you would be hard-pressed to find anyone who cares in the park.

Tomoko Shimada who was visiting the park with her young son says she has heard about Tokyo's bid on the news but nobody around me seems to care.

That apathy could hurt Tokyo's chances of on Friday when the International Olympic Committee selects the host city for 2016. IOC members have already criticized the city's bid committee for lacking "emotional punch" in its presentations. And they have questioned public support for the bid.

The bid committee tried to quiet that criticism by highlighting Tokyo's strengths.

A video produced by the city describes Tokyo as a world class destination - with venues already fit for the Games.

The committee plans to renovate venues used for the 1964 games and says more than half of the required facilities already exist. The plan is to keep all but two of the sporting events within an eight-kilometer radius.

The committee's strongest pitch? An environmentally friendly Olympics - where the main stadium would be powered entirely by solar energy.

Newly elected Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his wife are in Copenhagen to make the final push for Tokyo. But back home, few are expected to tune in for the big announcement.

This woman says if the Olympics come here it will only add to the city's congestion. She says the Games themselves will not affect her life.