With more than two years to go until the Rio 2016 Olympic Games begin, 38 per cent of the competition venues are ready for the event, the organsing committee has announced amid widespread concern over construction progress. 

Of the 29 permanent venues, 11 are operational, while eight require some renovation work and the other 10 will form part of the sporting legacy that is being constructed in the city. Eight temporary venues will also be used to host competitions.

Construction progress can be seen in the four Rio 2016 competition zones. While work on the Barra Olympic Park advances, with the conclusion of the foundations of Olympic Halls 1, 2 and 3, the Olympic Golf Course site is being irrigated in order to allow grass planting to begin.

At Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, the venue for rowing and canoe sprint, depth studies have been completed, while at Flamengo Park, the design of the integrated route for the athletics, road cycling and paracycling courses has started.

“We are advancing in the construction of competition venues for the Rio 2016 Games, with all of the basic and executive projects concluded or in the conclusion phase, and with foundation works in full flow. Even though they may not be highly visible, the preparative groundwork and foundation construction, that occurs underground, are extremely important for the final structure and often account for 20 per cent of the total volume of construction,” said Alexandre Techima, the Rio 2016 Infrastructure Integration Director.

In Deodoro, the tender process for the Games’ second largest venue cluster is underway, with construction scheduled to start in the second half of the year. Three existing competition venues– the National Shooting Centre, National Equestrian Centre and Modern Pentathlon Aquatics Centre – will be renovated, four new venues will become part of the important sporting legacy the Games will leave to the city, and two temporary venues will also be installed. At the same time, the legendary Maracanã Stadium is ready to stage matches at the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off next month.

Bid deadline for Temporary Arena extended

Rio 2016 has extended the deadline for suppliers interested in applying to participate in the project ‘C547 – Temporary Arena with Overlay’.

The bid is aimed at a company “specialized in temporary structures for supplying a Temporary Arena in turnkey mode, including all adjacent temporary structures."

The new deadline is 24 May 24 2014, 12h Brasilia’s time.

Source: Rio 2016

Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee announced the membership  on Thursday of 14 working groups that will develop “Olympic Agenda 2020” – the IOC’s roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement. 

Agenda 2020 centres on five themes: the uniqueness of the Olympic Games, athletes at the heart of the Olympic Movement, Olympism in action, the IOC’s role and IOC structure and organisation.

Each working group is to be chaired by an IOC member. John Coates, an outspoken critic of Rio’s preparations, is to head up the working group on bidding procedure. Sir Craig Reedie is to lead on good governance and autonomy. 

The working groups include athletes and representatives of the International Federations and National Olympic Committees. A number of experts have also been appointed from outside the Olympic Movement, including representatives from leading international non-governmental and business organisations. 

The aim of the working groups is to compile and discuss contributions to the Olympic Agenda 2020, which the IOC describes as a “strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement”. Many contributions to the debate of the future of the Olympic Movement have already been received from the Olympic Family and wider public via a call for feedback via email. 

The working groups will first meet in June, close to Olympic Day, and their findings discussed at the Olympic Summit in July and at an Executive Board Meeting on 22-24th October in Lausanne. The resulting proposals for Olympic Agenda 2020 will then be presented to all IOC members for discussion at the IOC Extraordinary Session in Monaco on 8 and 9 December 2014.

The 14 Working Groups are: Bidding Procedure (Chair John D. Coates, AC); Sustainability and Legacy (Chair Prince Sovereign Albert II); Differentiation of the Olympic Games (Chair Sam Ramsamy); Procedure for the composition of the Olympic Programme (Chair Franco Carraro); Olympic Games Management (Chair Mario Pescante); Protecting Clean Athletes (Chair Claudia Bokel); Olympic TV Channel (Chair Thomas Bach); Olympism in action including Youth Strategy; (Chair Gerardo Werthein); Youth Olympic Games (Chair Ser Miang Ng); Culture Policy (Chair Lambis V. Nikolaou); Good governance and autonomy (Chair Craig Reedie); Ethics (Chair Youssoupha Ndiaye); Strategic review of sponsorship, licensing and merchandising (Chair Tsunekazu Takeda); IOC Membership (Chair The Grand Duke Henri of Luxemburg).

The complete list of Working Groups can be viewed here.

For the first time, Tokyo last week welcomed the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission, which found that the city was on the right path towards hosting an excellent Olympic Games in 2020. 

“The Organising Committee and its government partners have got off to a quick start and are putting in place solid foundations for the next six years of preparations,” said John Coates, the chairman the body of experts tasked with assessing and facilitating the city’s progress. 

“We are very pleased with Tokyo 2020’s progress under the leadership of President Yoshiro Mori.”

In addition to chairing the Coordination Commission for Tokyo 2020, Coates is on the Coordination Commission for Rio 2016. His praise of Tokyo 2020 is in direct contrast with the concerns he raised over Rio 2016 in recent months. 

Where delays have been described as “critical” in Rio, Tokyo is off to a “quick start”. And while Rio 2016 has been criticised for poor communication between different levels of government, Tokyo 2020 has benefited from good coordination within government.

“The close cooperation of all levels of government with Tokyo 2020 was clearly felt by the Commission, particularly following our meeting with Prime Minister Abe and with Governor Masuzoe’s participation in the visit,” said Coates. 

“Their support for the Games, as well as the support of many high-profile Japanese personalities through the Tokyo 2020 Advisory Meeting, are greatly appreciated, and will stand the 2020 Games in good stead. Their commitment underlines that Tokyo 2020 is for all Japan, and is encouraging Japanese everywhere to get behind these Games and see how they can engage in helping Tokyo to welcome the world in 2020.”

Yoshiro Mori, President of Tokyo 2020 said “Even though our team consists of members of the sporting community, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the national government and various related organisations, I was able to gain a real sense that all members of the Organising Committee were pulling together in the same direction as a truly integrated unit. Over the next six years, the members of the Coordination Commission and the Organising Committee will work together as a united team, all sailing in the same boat towards a shared objective, and I believe we have got off to an excellent start.

“However, the members of the Commission did point out one or two things that need addressing. We will of course be incorporating all the advice we received into our preparations for the Games at the earliest opportunity.”

Venue review

The Commission visited many venues in the “Bay Zone” including the Velodrome, Gymnastic Centre, Tennis Park, Olympic Village, Tokyo Big Sight, Aquatics Centre, Wakasu Olympic Arena and Sea Forest venues. Twelve of Tokyo 2020’s venues are already existing, including four originally built for the 1964 Olympic Games. 

The visit took place at a time when Tokyo 2020 has been reviewing the venue plans outlined in its bid, amid widespread speculation about the implications of this review. This review was sparked by the observations of the IOC Evaluation Commission, which monitored the city’s bid for the Games. 

In a statement, the IOC said “The review will not affect the core principles of the bid. The objective is to refine the legacy and operational assumptions of Tokyo’s plans. The Tokyo organisers are looking to ensure that their Games leave a sustainable long-term legacy to the host city and its citizens. The review is being carried out in cooperation with all the key national and international stakeholders.

“The legacy vision and objectives are consistent with discussions around Olympic Agenda 2020, a process that will provide an ambitious strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement.”

Mori said “With regard to the review of our venue plan, I informed the Coordination Commission that, based on such aspects as the kind of legacy we will leave, the impact of the Games on the lives of Tokyo residents and the cost of construction and maintenance of the venues, the Organising Committee will examine all issues closely and collaborate with the IOC, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), and both domestic and international sports federations, to ensure the success of the Games.”

A ranking of cities under threat from natural disasters, “Mind the Risk” by reinsurance company Swiss Re, has placed Tokyo top of the list. 

The International Olympic Committee nonetheless told HOST CITY that it stands by the findings of its Evaluation Commission, which highlighted Tokyo’s “well thought-out proposals for the successful planning and delivery of security operations, which would deliver safe and secure Games.”

Tokyo successfully dispelled safety concerns during its bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Speaking to IOC members during the bid presentation in September, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe described Tokyo as “one of the safest cities in the world.”

The IOC on Wednesday reaffirmed its confidence in Tokyo’s ability to respond to potential seismic events. “It goes without saying that we cannot predict natural disasters, but Tokyo is known for having some of the most comprehensive construction practices to help protect buildings against the effects of earthquakes,” an IOC spokesperson told HOST CITY.

“The local authorities are also very well prepared to handle these types of emergency situations and we have complete confidence in them, as the Evaluation Commission noted in its report.”

Matthias Weber, Swiss Re’s Group Chief Underwriting Officer said in the report: “We know from past events that physical prevention measures alone do not suffice to build a resilient city, since damage from the most severe catastrophes cannot be fully averted.

“An important part of resilience is how well urban societies are able to cope with the financial consequences of a disaster, which includes access to the requisite funding for relief, recovery and reconstruction.”

HOST CITY also contacted Tokyo 2020, which was unavailable for comment at time of writing.

Seven of the ten cities found to be at highest risk are in East Asia, due to their combination of high seismic activity and large populations. 

Los Angeles, which is taking steps towards a highly anticipated bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games, has the seventh largest number of people at risk of natural disaster, according to the Swiss Re report.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s coordination commission concluded its first visit to Tokyo on Friday, leaving with positive impressions of planning, personnel and infrastructure.

John Coates, chairman of the commission, said at the close of the meeting: “We have been very impressed with what we have seen this week during our visit. 

“The current level of planning; the venue layout; the involvement and integration of the Government authorities at all levels; and the experience and diversity of the new Executive Board all leave us confident in Tokyo’s ability to deliver great Games for the athletes in 2020.”

The IOC delegation also included Vice-Chair Alex Gilady, IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli, and Deputy Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi.

From 2 to 4 April, the group participated in the first IOC project review of the Games preparations and were updated on progress made since Tokyo was elected as the host city of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in September 2013.

The IOC executives were introduced to members of the new Tokyo 2020 executive board. The Commission was particularly pleased to see that a number of athletes and women are on the Board, representing the culture and diversity of Japan, the IOC said in a statement.

Coates said: “Since my last visit to Tokyo with IOC president Thomas Bach in November 2013, Tokyo 2020 has successfully undertaken a number of important steps on its seven-year Olympic journey. The establishment of the organising committee, the constitution of its executive board, the creation of a high-level advisory committee, and its participation in the observer programme for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games will all enable Tokyo to face the coming six and a half years with a high level of confidence thanks to this quick start.”

The Games organisers presented on a number of topics, including governance, legacy, sustainability, accommodation, finance, commercial matters, engagement, medical, athlete preparation, venues and infrastructure. 

Venue visits

The delegation visited a number of the venue sites, including Yoyogi National Stadium, the Olympic Stadium, Nippon Budokan, Imperial Palace Garden, Tokyo International Forum, Kokugikan Arena, Odaiba Marine Park, Tokyo Big Sight, and viewed the sites of all the other future venues of the Tokyo Bay Zone. 

The venue visit also included a trip to the site of the future Olympic Village, where the delegation was joined by Tokyo Governor Yoichi Masuzoe, Olympic champion Koji Murofushi, and a number of young Japanese rowers, including Olympian Haruna Sakakibara, who took part in the London 2012 Games.

Yoshiro Mori, chairman of Tokyo 2020 said: “We have just completed three days of meetings, and I am very pleased that we were able to hold a range of productive discussions. We now have a much clearer understanding of the direction required for us to take to deliver successful Games.”

The first full IOC coordination commission visit to Tokyo will be held from 25 to 27 June 2014. This will be the first of 10 Commission visits to the 2020 host city over its seven-year lifecycle. 

“We will now work towards implementing the action plan that we have formulated together over the past three days, and we look forward to welcoming the members of the IOC Coordination Commission back to Tokyo this summer,” said Mori.

The International Olympic Committee is reviewing its bidding procedure, with a renewed emphasis on the social, environmental and developmental goals of the bidding city and its country, Gilbert Felli confirmed on Thursday.

Speaking at the SportAccord Convention in Belek, the IOC’s Director of Olympic Games said: “The idea is that we want to shift the focus a little bit, in a way that we encourage potential candidate cities to tell us how they see the Olympic Games fitting best in their social environment, their long term development plans, with regard to sports and general infrastructure, to environmental protection – to get more diversity into the bidding procedure.”

Felli’s comments expand on the “Olympic Agenda 2020”, a key theme of which is to communicate the value of bidding for and hosting the Olympic Games.

The current two-phase procedure is being reviewed “to make sure the IOC does not ask too much too soon”. Concerns have been raised that too much information is requested at the applicant phase, deterring potential applicants. 

The reviewed process will also mean that information requested will be more focussed on the long term goals of the applicant, rather than on the event itself. “And in the end, to have it less a tender for a franchise and more an invitation to Olympic Games on the background of the culture and the perception of a sustainable development in the future host country,” said Felli.

Other proposals to broaden the appeal of bidding include reducing and controlling costs for bid cities, the possibility of joint bids from several cities in two or more countries, and reviewing the IOC’s requirements “to see how the Olympic Games could be awarded to cities in new territories and emerging economies”.

The President of the IOC, Dr Thomas Bach, confirmed at SportAccord Convention on Thursday that a series of measures have immediately been put in place to safeguard the success of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. 

The IOC has asked leaders in Brazil to form a high-level decision making body to coordinate the delivery of the Games. The IOC is also going to appoint a local project manager, with task forces focusing on specific areas.

Gilbert Felli, Director of Olympic Games at the IOC will head up a more frequent schedule of visits, starting on Monday. International federations have also been asked to play a more hands-on role in monitoring progress.

“We know about these concerns because of the excellent work of our coordination commission, which had a visit to Rio not too long ago,” President Bach said at the SportAccord Convention in Belek. “We believe Rio can and will deliver excellent Olympic Games if the appropriate actions are taken.”

Leaders from within the IOC met with the Rio 2016 organising committee on Wednesday at SportAccord Convention. “We had a very constructive atmosphere with our partners in Rio,” said Bach. “We then decided some measures – how we can accelerate the works in Rio, how we can work even closer with the organising committee and the different levels of government.”

The organising committee has been asked to put in place a high-level decision making body representing different levels of government, communication between which is a particular area of concern. 

“We will use our experience in organising Games to show how different levels of government can work better together; how seamless cooperation can be done; how can you then benefit from experience of previous organisers or experts.”

Bach cited Sochi as a good example. “We would enhance the collaboration with international federations and other key stakeholders in the way we had also done for Sochi, where we had dedicated project teams from different international federations going to Sochi on a regular basis.”

The three task forces to be established will focus on construction, operations and engaging population behind the Games. Mindful of recent protests directed towards the FIFA World Cup, Bach stressed that the benefits of hosting the Games would be communicated to the local population. “We have a very good message to send to the Cariocas because these Games will leave a great legacy for the city.”

Bach was keen to emphasise that the supervisory measures have not been enforced onto the Brazilian organisers. “We have informed the organisers and the major of Rio. The measures were very much welcomed. The strong commitment by the IOC to the success of these Games is very well appreciated by our Brazilian partners. 

Gilbert Felli is due to meet with Mayor Eduardo Paes and the organising committee on Monday 14th April. “A couple of days later he will have his first assessment,” said Bach. “This is not a measure being imposed by the IOC; this measure has been appreciated by the Organising Committee and the mayor.”

Unwilling to apportion blame at this stage, Bach said: “This is about 2016 and we have to look to the future, and not start a blame game for the past. We need all our energy; we share their concerns to make the games a success. 

“After the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games we can come back to this question of responsibility. But now we would not act in a responsible way if we were to look too much into the past.”

• Brisbane moved to “targeted dialogue” as the first project to meet feasibility criteria

• This doesn’t mean a host has been elected now

• If targeted dialogue is unsuccessful, “continuous dialogue” with Brisbane and other interested parties could resume

• New approach to selecting hosts enables long term strategic outlook

• Expert advice is to "seize solid existing opportunities" due to impact of Covid crisis

• No double award with 2036 due to uncertain outlook beyond 2032

The IOC progressed Brisbane to the “targeted dialogue” stage of candidature for the 2032 Olympic Games following “expert advice” to “seize solid existing opportunities and secure the future” – but planning even further ahead is not recommended by IOC Members addressing the 137th IOC Session.

, Chair of the Future Hosts Commission for the Summer Games addressed the question of whether to consider a double award for 2032 and 2036, akin to the dual awarding of Paris and Los Angeles.

“The 2024 and 2028 double award was a very different situation for many reasons, not least because it was an election 11 years ahead, while 2036 would represent 15 years before the Games,” she said.

“In addition the Olympic Games will evolve tremendously during this period. The Games are a reflection of society and there is going to be an evolution in national and individual priorities on sustainability, human development and other topics.

“The UN Sustainable Development Goals are expected to be concluded by the early 2030s and there will certainly be new, more ambitious objectives with which the Olympic movement will want to align. 

“The Games should also reflect the fast-evolving sports landscape. In addition there can also be many changes to the political landscape over such a long period, which adds to the uncertainty.”

IOC Member and Austrian Olympic Committee President Karl Stoss also highlighted the importance of keeping future Games bids open to other prospective hosts.

“It is great to have a long perspective of our host cities and regions,” he said. “With 2032 Brisbane and Queensland we have a long-term strategy about our hosts of our [Summer Olympic] Games after Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles and hopefully Brisbane Australia," he said.

“But it is also our responsibility, and from the perspective of good governance and fairness, not to go too far in the future, because there may be some other interested parties and cities and regions.

“We have a good choice if we do it for 2032, but in the mind of good governance and fairness for all – maybe all other interested cities and regions – we have not to go too far in the future.”

The IOC elected in January 2019 to take a new dialogue-based approach to selecting Olympic hosts.

“The non-committal and confidential nature of the approach, with no financial commitment, benefits both interested parties and the IOC,” said Kloster Aasen.

“It has encouraged interested parties to come to the table to test ideas and concepts and explore a vision or a potential for hosting future games or ask for information.”

The process begins with a phase known as “continuous dialogue”.

“Since there is no submission required in continuous dialogue, as opposed to the past, interested parties spend very little money and benefit from up to date information and expertise from the IOC at no cost to them. They can test plans and assumptions without public debate and see how to best align their Olympic planning with their own development plans for their communities.

“This flexibility also benefits the Olympic movement to have a long-term strategic outlook across editions of the Games.”

Through the new procedure, a candidate’s hosting plan is moved from continuous dialogue to targeted dialogue when it meets certain criteria, as has now happened with Brisbane.

“It became clear that one project, and only one project met all the opportunities we have seen in the public feasibility assessment, and that project was Brisbane.

“Moving to a targeted dialogue means that we are moving a project to a second stage for a detailed development and assessment.... [it] does not mean that we are electing an Olympic host now.

“Once a preferred host has been selected for a particular edition of the games, no other interested party can enter into targeted dialogue for the same Games, unless the first targeted dialogue has been unsuccessfully concluded.”

Brisbane will now develop its plans in more detail.

“If Brisbane delivers, the Executive Board would be in a position to put Brisbane 2032 forward to the Session to a vote. If not, despite best efforts by both parties, the IOC and Brisbane, the Executive Board could advise the Future Host Commission to go back to continuous dialogue with Brisbane and other interested parties.”

Global economic repercussions

The impact of Covid 19 has been felt by National Olympic Committees and interested parties in continuous dialogue. “Many projects were put on hold while governments were concentrating on protecting the health of their cities and trying to shore up their economies,” Kloster Aasen said.

And the impact will be felt for years to come. “Once the health crisis is over, it is going to have global economic repercussions. The world economy is going through an unprecedented crisis. The current health crisis will have wider global consequences especially with respect to the labour market and the risk of increased inequality.

“While the impact of the crisis can be witnessed now, experts forecast that the world economy is likely to be most impacted over the next 5 years, during the period when we would have expected to elect a host for 2032 under the previous candidature system.

“The expert advice that we have been given is that we should seize solid existing opportunities and secure the future for a next generation of athletes who are facing an uncertain future.”

Host City: Congratulations on your appointment as chair of the recently formed Future Host Commission. What is the Commission’s primary role?

Kristin Kloster Aasen: First of all, I am honoured and excited to have been appointed to chair the Future Host Commission for the Olympic Games and YOG (Summer). Together with the other members of the Commission, who each hold important expertise and knowledge and the support of the highly skilled IOC Olympic Games Department and Future Olympic Hosts team, we will do our best to fulfil the mandate of the Commission provided to us.

The Future Host Commissions, one for summer and one for winter Games, have been established (approved by the IOC Session in June 2019) to undertake a whole new approach to electing future hosts of the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games, advising and providing recommendations to the IOC Executive Board in this regard.

The overarching goal is to ensure that the Olympic Games may be fully aligned with future hosts’ long-term development plans. And that a dynamic and engaging new approach will benefit future hosts and provide the best possible Games for the athletes and participants.

The Future Host Commissions will oversee interest in future Games by establishing a permanent, non-edition-specific dialogue to explore interest among cities/regions/ countries and National Olympic Committees. This means that “host” does not necessarily refer to a single city as in the past but opens the door to multiple cities, regions and countries. Election timings are now flexible and adjusted to local opportunities and context – meaning that the former seven-year rule no longer applies.

This “Continuous Dialogue” as we call it is non-committal for both parties and will not require the interested parties to submit any reports. And this alone will contribute to cost reduction for the city/region/country as well as the NOC. The Commissions will monitor and analyse the projects, provide feasibility assessments, the results of which will form the basis for recommendations to the IOC Executive Board. The Commissions will report regularly to the Executive Board.

When the Executive Board makes a strategic decision to move forward with one or more Preferred Host(s) for a specific edition of the Games, this defines the start of a “Targeted Dialogue.”

At this time the preferred host(s) will be asked to submit a set of streamlined documents, including guarantees. The requirements and timelines will be the same for all preferred hosts. The Future Host Commissions will continue our work by making more detailed evaluations of the projects. This part is similar to the previous “Candidature Process”.

It is the responsibility of the Executive Board to put forward one or more preferred hosts for election at the IOC Session. Meaning that the IOC Membership will continue to be the final decision-makers on future hosts of the Olympic Games.

Host City: The Olympic bidding process now starts with an “invitation phase”. Who takes the initiative here – does the IOC identify and contact suitable cities, or do cities tend to come to you? Who is invited and how?

Kristin Kloster Aasen: The role of the Commissions is to permanently explore, monitor and encourage interest in future Olympic Games, Olympic Winter Games and Youth Olympic Games.

I believe it is likely that the initiative to the dialogue will arise from the interested parties themselves. However, referring to the role of the Commissions, the IOC has laid the foundation for a dynamic and open approach working both ways.

Host City: Some regions are already looking to bid – Queensland and Rhine-Ruhr, for example. What advantages might a regional bid have over a city bid – and would national, or even international bids be conceivable in the future?

Kristin Kloster Aasen: Sustainability is one of the pillars of IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms. Therefore, we now say that new permanent venues should only be considered by a host if they align with the long-term plans of the local community. When this is not the case, the most suitable existing venue should be used, even if located in different cities, regions or countries.

The door is open for any interested party however way they chose to form. There is no “one size fits all” solution. We now provide the flexibility for Games projects to adapt to the future objectives of the hosts, and the best ones will be those that most successfully achieve this goal. However, the NOC of the country in question is of course still key.

Host City: What would you say is the most important issue facing the major event hosting sector today, and what needs to be done to address this issue?

Kristin Kloster Aasen: Whereas the Future Host Commissions will monitor and promote interest in future Olympic Games, they will also study long-term challenges facing the Olympic Games, such as climate change and legacy use of competition venues, in which the IOC Sustainability and Legacy strategies will play an important part.

The new election approach will increase IOC flexibility, and enable us and interested parties to better react to various developments and opportunities such as geographic, strategic, economic and societal.

Host City: What was your impression of Lausanne 2020 – how is the Youth Olympic Games developing as an event?

Kristin Kloster Aasen: Visiting Lausanne 2020 was a fantastic experience. These Winter YOG have manifested themselves as unique, sustainable and inspiring Games; by, for and with youth.

The concept of the use of several locations for venues, use of a unique public transport network for athletes, support personnel and spectators really highlight a modern approach in line with the ambitions set out in Olympic Agenda 2020.

The number of spectators at every venue and competition I visited was impressive and gave the Games a real feeling of home support for the Swiss (and French) people. Also, Lausanne which is normally a quiet city was full of life and young people every day. Great fun!

Host City: How are sports at Tokyo 2020 reflecting a new focus on young and urban audiences?

Kristin Kloster Aasen: The Olympic Games are more urban, more youthful and more gender balanced than ever before. Not only are new sports and disciplines like 3x3 Basketball, BMX freestyle, Skateboarding, Surfing, and Sport Climbing youth-focused events, they will feature in an atmosphere that puts the fan in front. The diversity of new and established sports and disciplines reflects well Tokyo’s cultural blend of tradition and innovation.

We have also re-imagined how the Olympic Games could be organised, simplifying venue plans, and using existing facilities, which has led to more than USD 4 billion in savings. All of this while making sure the Games are more exciting and engaging for fans both young and old around the world.

[Source: Aggreko] Aggreko plc, the global leader in the rental of power, heating and cooling, is pleased to announce that its subsidiary Aggreko Events Services Japan Limited ('AESJL') has been awarded the supply contract in the category of 'Temporary Electricity Generation' by The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

As part of the supply contract AESJL will provide temporary electricity (generation and distribution) systems to support the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. AESJL's extended scope of supply includes temporary medium and low voltage power systems across 43 competition venues, the Athletes Village and the International Broadcast Centre, ensuring reliable power for all stakeholders in the venues and uninterrupted television broadcast to millions of viewers.

The value of the supply contract is expected to be in the region of $200m, and reinforces Aggreko's confidence in its ability to achieve its mid-teens ROCE target in 2020.

Aggreko has a proven track record in supporting high profile events including this year's PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, European Championships in Glasgow and Ryder Cup in France.

Chris Weston, Chief Executive Officer said: "We are delighted to have secured what is one of the most prestigious event contracts won by Aggreko. Our experienced team will support the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee to ensure our role in the success of the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games is flawlessly delivered."