PARIS, Sept 2: Six cities — Baku, Doha, Istanbul, Madrid, Rome and Tokyo — have officially lodged bids to host the 2020 Olympic Games, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday.

The bids’ deadline ran out at midnight on Thursday, with the crunch IOC vote on the host city for 2020 scheduled to be held on September 7, 2013, in Buenos Aires.

The IOC, in a statement, confirmed the runners in the race for 2020: “The International Olympic Committee is pleased to announce that six cities have been put forward by their respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to apply to host the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in 2020.

“The cities, in alphabetical order, are: Baku (Azerbaijan), Doha (Qatar), Istanbul (Turkey), Madrid (Spain), Rome (Italy) and Tokyo (Japan).”

Doha’s name went into the 202 hat after the IOC held a meeting in South Korea last week to examine Qatar’s candidacy.

Should they be chosen Doha are requesting to hold the Games at the end of October and start of November rather than the traditional Olympic window between July 15 and August 31.

Qatar was snubbed by the IOC in its bid for the 2016 Games despite tying with Chicago for third place and ranking ahead of Rio de Janeiro in grading by the IOC’s evaluation commission because of its insistence that the Games move to October.

Azerbaijan capital Baku also failed to make it into the final vote for that edition.—AFP

PARIS, Sept 2: Six cities — Baku, Doha, Istanbul, Madrid, Rome and Tokyo — have officially lodged bids to host the 2020 Olympic Games, according to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday. The bids’ deadline ran out at midnight on Thursday, with the crunch IOC vote on the host city for 2020 scheduled to be held on September 7, 2013, in Buenos Aires. The IOC, in a statement, confirmed the runners in the race for 2020: “The International Olympic Committee is pleased to announce that six cities have been put forward by their respective National Olympic Committees (NOCs) to apply to host the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in 2020. “The cities, in alphabetical order, are: Baku (Azerbaijan), Doha (Qatar), Istanbul (Turkey), Madrid (Spain), Rome (Italy) and Tokyo (Japan).” Doha’s name went into the 202 hat after the IOC held a meeting in South Korea last week to examine Qatar’s candidacy. Should they be chosen Doha are requesting to hold the Games at the end of October and start of November rather than the traditional Olympic window between July 15 and August 31. Qatar was snubbed by the IOC in its bid for the 2016 Games despite tying with Chicago for third place and ranking ahead of Rio de Janeiro in grading by the IOC’s evaluation commission because of its insistence that the Games move to October. Azerbaijan capital Baku also failed to make it into the final vote for that edition.—AFP