East, West or Middle?

The undisputed kings of brown envelope culture meet today to decide the destination of the 2020 Olympics. The IOC have been heavily associated with corruption over many years now so today's vote is no less likely to throw up a surprise than recent years. Remember the shock when Paris was usurped at the last minute by London? We were told that no less a celebrity than David Beckham had swung the vote in our favour. Absolute rubbish. The truth behind that decision we will perhaps never know but at least we did get to enjoy a memorable summer whereby we were able to watch the Olympics taking place a little closer to our TV sets than usual.

The candidates for today's vote make for interesting reading. Japan has held the event before in 1964 and, by all accounts, has a good infrastructure in place. I would expect no less from the ancestral home of organisation where even the trains run to the millisecond. I can't help but wonder though just how much radioactivity is still knocking about in the aftermath of the unfortunate events at Fukushima recently. Tokyo would be a popular choice for all that and I wouldn't be surprised to see them push hard. The games have though recently been to that part of the world in Beijing so perhaps they may have to wait their turn.

What about Madrid? The centre of European poverty, Spain is on its knees financially as it still struggles to come to terms with the property crash which continues to blight its progress. Europeans have a soft spot for Madrid and this would be the safe option. The IOC seldom plays safe though. Madrid is situated in the middle of the desert so would actually represent a surprise choice if selected - very cold in the morning and late evening but extremely hot during the day.

Which leaves Istanbul. There are more problems than answers here but it remains the best option for me. If the Olympics is to try and regain some credibility, Istanbul would be a step in the right direction. As a key link between the East and West, this would make sense politically, culturally and economically. Although Turkey has had its problems in recent weeks, the coming of the Olympics could be just the tonic to bring opposing factions together. Brave would be the man to predict this vote but I hope Istanbul gets the nod for the sake of everybody.