Tokyo to Host 2020 Summer Olympic Games says IOC

On Saturday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that they have selected the city of Tokyo to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. This will be the first time Tokyo has hosted since the Summer Olympics in 1964.

Tokyo won the bid for the 2020 Olympics over the other leading cities of Madrid and Istanbul. The winning bid for Tokyo’s Olympic hosting opportunity was reportedly $5 billion to $6 billion.

There had been some concern over Tokyo as a choice in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear plant melt down and the continued leak of radiation. In his presentation to the IOC, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised an effective cleanup of the site in time for the games.

In fact, Abe indicated that Tokyo would stage a successful Games as a way to thank the world for its support after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that rocked the island nation and led to the Nuclear disaster.

“Sport has the power to unite people,” Abe said. “We experienced that after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011, when athletes came to our country and helped us. Japan needs the power of sport, we need hopes and dreams.”

Up next, the Winter Olympics will be held in Russia in 2014, with the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil. In 2018, the Winter Olympic Games head to South Korea, and now we know that Tokyo will host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.