LONDON (AP) — Leaders of Istanbul’s bid for the 2020 Olympics say public support for the event rose to 94 percent before anti-government protests in Turkey.
Istanbul bid leader Hasan Arat says his committee conducted a public opinion survey about two months ago. Demonstrations against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan swept Turkey in June.
The support is significantly higher than the 83 percent from a poll conducted by the IOC earlier this year. That was already the highest support among the three bid cities, with 76 percent for Madrid and 70 percent for Tokyo.
Hasan says Istanbul has addressed the issue of the protests with the IOC and “now we concentrate on our technical excellence.”
The IOC vote is Sept. 7 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
