By Sinikka Tarvainen Jul 6, 2005, 13:48 GMT
Madrid - Madrid will maintain its Olympic ambition despite not being chosen to host the 2012 Games, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said Wednesday in Singapore.
"Madrid has come very far in a short time and was close" to being elected, Zapatero told Spanish journalists, congratulating London for winning the International Olympic Committee (IOC) vote.
Madrid was eliminated in the third round of voting after Moscow and New York, leaving London to edge out Paris in the final round by 54 votes to 50.
Thousands of Madrid residents watching the IOC vote on a gigantic screen at the central Plaza Mayor square reacted with tears and angry shouts when Madrid was eliminated, but applauded when the choice of London was announced.
Spanish officials in Singapore and Madrid stressed it was an achievement for Madrid to have come third in a competition against giants such as London, Paris, New York and Moscow.
"Madrid deserves to be an Olympic city," former Tour de France champion Miguel Indurain said.
Madrid had been somewhat prepared for the possibility of losing despite strong selling points such as environmental policy, the compact layout of Olympic venues and the advanced state of Olympic installations.
A car bomb planted by Basque separatists near the would-be Olympic stadium rocked Madrid's hopes shortly before the IOC vote.
The Socialist government and conservative opposition criticized Monaco's Prince Albert for raising the security issue during Madrid's presentation of its candidacy. The "tone" of Albert's question to Madrid representatives was "inappropriate" for a head of state, government sources said.
Madrid officials have stressed that the Spanish capital is as safe as any other, because a terrorist attack could occur anywhere.
An IOC Evaluation Commission had also criticized Madrid's lack of hotel rooms and highway noise near the proposed site of the Olympic village.
Madrid was the only candidate city that had never organized Olympics. The bid was Madrid's second since 1966, when Munich landed the 1972 Olympics.
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Peter from MadridJul 7th, 2005 - 11:59:57
What about the question of Prince Albert about the security in Madrid? And what about the security in London or New York? Fucking Albert that only has time to produce bastards!
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