This page has been modified on July 14,2001.
IN 2001
Osaka loses in first round
On July 13, the host city for the 2008 Summer Games was selected in Moscow.
5 cities ran for the slot. But in the first round, Osaka received the least votes disappointing
the delegation from Osaka.
The winner, Beijing, making it the 3rd Asian city to host the Games.
The first was Tokyo in 1964, second was Soeul in 1988.
IN 2000
Osaka remains among finalist
IOC announced on Aug.28 that the following cities will be the final candidates.
They are Paris, Beijing, Toronto, Istanbul and Osaka.
Those that have been dropped out are Bangkok, Cairo, Havana, Kuala Lumpur and Seville.
The 2008 host will be announced in July 2001.
Osaka city an official candidate
Osaka mayor Isomura came to Tokyo to submit its application form to the Japan Olympic Committee on Jan. 25.
JOC faxed the paper immediately to IOC to confirm Osaka's candidacy in the bid for the 2008 Summer Games.
The host city will be decided in Mexico in 2001.
IN 1999
Osaka formally launches bid
On Feb. 8, Osaka formed an Olympic bidding committee.
However, there weren't the top politicians taking part in its launch--
dropping the number of the participants by 105 to 545.
That's because Nagano and other former Olympic host cities
under suspicious for bribbing IOC officials
and they don't want to be involved.
The bidding committee will received 900 million yen for
operations in 1999.
Osaka's rivals are Beijing, Paris, Buenos Aires to name a few.
IN 1997
Osaka is Japan's candidate city
The Japan Olympic Commitee has formally recognized Osaka as Japan's 2008
Olympic Games candidate. A ballot took place on Aug. 13 in Tokyo.
Out of a total 49 votes, 29 went to Osaka while 17 rooted for Yokohama.
Now Osaka will target the year 2001 when the IOC while chose the 2008
host city. Osaka's rivals are Madrid, Paris, Prahue, and so on, and the
strongest candidate is believed to be Beijing.
Osaka and Yokohama have been inspected
Members of the Japan Olympic Committee visited Osaka on June 10 and 11,
and Yokohama on 12 and 13. The compact layout of the venues in Osaka and
the widespread setting of the Games proposed by Yokohama seem to have given the
members a quite a different choice. They plan to put together a report on June 25.
Mayors of Osaka and Yokohama submit plans
The mayors of the 2 cities bidding for the year 2008 Olympics visited president of the
Japan Olympic Committee, Hironoshin Furuhashi, on Apr. 30.
They handed in outlines of their plans for the Olympics. Here's what each city
is proposing.
| YOKOHAMA | OSAKA | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration | Oct. 10 to 26 | July 25 to Aug.10 | |
| Venue | 38 facilities in 8 prefectures | on reclaimed land Maishima | |
| Main stadium | 75,000 capacity stadium in Yokohama | 100,000 capacity stadium on Maishima | |
| Athletes village | Minato Mirai 21 | 60 hectare plot on Maishima | |
| Total cost | 167 billion yen | 169.5 billion yen | |
| Environmental concern | recyclable system at all venues | energy recycled from incinerator | |
Yokohama & Osaka's movements
The mayor of Yokohama, Hidenobu Takehide has formally visited the Japan Olympic Committee on
Oct. 22 that his city would like to bid for the year 2008 Olympic Games.
According to a poll conducted by the local government, 83 percent of its citizens are said to
approval of Yokohama's hosting the Olympics.
On Sept. 5, the city of Osaka has submitted an official paper to the Japan Olympic Committee that they would like to bid for the year 2008. They've officially announced their interest a month and a half before the candidacy application will be closed. Other cities that have officially become candidates are Prague (Czech) and Pusan (S.Korea).
By August 1997, JOC would like to finalize whether to have Yokohama or Osaka bid for the candidacy. The schedule will be specified on Nov. 20.
Go to OLYMPIC INDEX