Olympics 2008 News

Rome will not make 2020 Olympic bid

Feb 14, 2012, 15:46 GMT

Rome - Rome is not in a position to bid for the 2020 Olympic Games as the government cannot provide the necessary financial guarantees, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti said Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference in the Italian capital, Monti said his government would not sign a letter required by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from each of the bidding cities.

'We cannot make a financial commitment that could severely weigh on Italy in an unpredictable way in the coming years,' Monti said.

'We've already asked Italians to make sacrifices,' the premier said, referring to tough austerity measures, including tax hikes introduced by his government and aimed at staving off a default by Italy on its public debt repayments.

Rome's withdrawal leaves Baku, Istanbul, Madrid, Doha and Tokyo as the remaining contenders to hosting the 2020 Summer Games.

'The Olympic dream has vanished: I accept the decision but I would have wanted greater respect because telling us 'no' on the last day was not nice,' the Italy's National Olympic Committee president Gianni Petrucci, said.

The deadline for submission of the supporting letter to the IOC is Wednesday.

Alemanno, whose city hosted the 1960 Olympics but lost out to Athens in 2004, said Monti 'had given clear reasons, but ones that I cannot share'.

Ahead of Tuesday's decision, reports said that Monti had decided against supporting Rome's bid after studying the impact on Greece following Athens' hosting of the Olympics in 2004.

Greece currently in the midst of social turmoil including anti-government riots as the country faces bankruptcy.

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