Third time lucky for Madrid Olympic bid?
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The Mayor of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz Gallardon said Tuesday that the Spanish capital had not given up on its dream of hosting the Olympic Games despite the failure of its last two candidacies.
Madrid was beaten in its attempt to host the 2012 Games, losing out to London and last year finished behind Rio de Janeiro in the final vote to decide the host city for 2016.
Speaking on Spanish state television station TVE on Tuesday, Gallardon said the city still kept its Olympic dream alive.
"Madrid will be an Olympic city," assured Gallardon, "But we should not talk about presenting the city for a third and a fourth time. We have to have a third possibility and ensure that it is definitive," he said on TVE.
After defeats in 2012 and 2016, Gallardon was not certain if the city would present a candidacy for the 2020 Games.
"We have to look closely to see if it is more intelligent to present a candidacy for 2020 or for 2024. In order to do that we have to look at which other cities will present their candidacy, see how the World Cup which is being held in Africa turns out and look at many other factors," said the Mayor, who will have to face re-election before the decision is taken.
"It is not in our hands now. It will have to be next administration elected by the people of Madrid that makes the choice," said Gallardon.
One thing Gallardon had clear was that despite not being chosen to host the Games, Madrid had still gained from its two failed candidacies.
"Madrid has not lost anything in trying for the 2012 and 2016 Games, on the contrary, it earned a higher profile and saw both tourism and the city's importance increases," he said.
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