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Press Release | Madrid 2016 Olympic Bid, The Games of the People

by Sasha Manuel on January 17th, 2008

Madrid, January 15th 2008

- The Madrid 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games would bring an intense and powerful social regeneration process in the Spanish capital.
- The effects of this regeneration, as the Mayor said: “are going to be noticed from about the middle of this year on to and during the next generations.”
- The legacy is going to be focused in five major aspects: society, sports, economics, environment and culture.
- The East side of the city is the “heart” of the Games, containing 15 sport areas for competition. The West side of the city, along the river and its environmental regeneration project, will represent the “lungs” of the Olympic city.
- 25 out of 30 sports areas for competition in Madrid will be located in less than 12 kilometres radius from the city centre in order to allow for a quick, effective and clean transport of the Olympic family.
- A 780 hectares-degraded area will be transformed in green spaces and parks where people will be able to practice sport or spend their leisure time there, as well as allowing the intercultural exchange and coexistence.

The Madrid 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, described by the Mayor of Madrid Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón as The Games of the People because of the great importance of the Madrid citizens in the project, is going to bring an intense and powerful social regeneration process in the Spanish capital.

Mr. Ruiz-Gallardón presented today the questionnaire that explains every detail of the most important aspects of the Madrid 2016 Olympic and Paralympic bid. Besides, he explained that the legacy of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games is going to be focused in five major aspects: the society (thanks to the new education and sanitary programs); the sports (making sure that the 70 % of the sport areas for competition will be finished before 2016 ends); the economy (the project will attract more tourism and more commercial opportunities); the environment (by creating new parks and bicycle-riding infrastructures) and the culture (improving and promoting the new technologies and creative languages).

The effects of this regeneration, as Mr. Ruiz-Gallardón confirmed, are going to be noticed from about the middle of this year on to and during the next generations, thus the Madrid Government great efforts to make sure the citizens can feel really involved in this “beautiful universal adventure”, whose slogan: “Feel the experience. It’s in your hands”, shows the open and welcoming aim of the Madrid 2016 Olympic bid.

The Mayor of Madrid also said: “We want these Games to be the Games of the People, the Games that involve every citizen. This citizen participation will be shown in our top quality sports infrastructures and in every activity related to the Olympic bid and the Games themselves”.

Physical and social renovation

The questionnaire, delivered yesterday by Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the headquarters of the International Olympic Committee located in Lausanne, answers a total of 25 questions concerning the applicant city’s project and they will be further explained in a longer dossier. In any case, these answers already outline the profile of what Madrid wants to be a crucial event in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The human approach of the Games concerns every citizen, as Mr. Ruiz-Gallardón insisted, “will add a pledge on the social and physical renovation of the city through a thorough design of the infrastructures, both the old and the new ones”. That is the reason why the project is divided into two different clusters: the East side of the city, containing 15 sport venues for competition, will be the “heart” of the Games and the West side of the city, that will be located along the river and around the environmental regeneration project, will represent the “lungs” of the Games.

The Mayor also said that “this compact design that will allow 25 out of the 30 sport venues for competition in Madrid to be located in less than 12 kilometres from the city centre, will also allow a quick and effective transport of the Olympic family, the audience and the journalists. The transport will also be clean because we will give top priority to the air quality and the environment in order to achieve Olympic and Paralympic Games that will be free of private vehicles”.

“In fact, Madrid is proving that the financial development, the social integration and the environmental protection are compatible objectives, and those are the reasons why we are starting from a good base in that aspect”, he added. Mr. Ruiz-Gallardón also reminded that there is a park 10 minutes away from every citizen’s home, that the river is regaining its importance and that the waste collection for recycling and the air quality of Madrid obey the European requirements.

Madrid has also a Local Strategy Plan in order to improve the air quality (Estrategia Local del Aire 2006-2010), which includes a limitation in the city traffic and an even stronger promotion on using the public transport. The Games will also bring Madrid new parks and green spaces out of a 780 hectares-degraded area so the citizens can practice sport or spend their leisure time there, as well as allowing the intercultural exchange and coexistence.

Guarantee of Success

Mr. Ruiz-Gallardón also mentioned other reasons that guarantee the success of the Games in the capital of Spain. He mentioned the hotel infrastructure, which will offer a total of 80.000 rooms in 2016, more of half of them being 4 and 5 stars hotels. He also stated that Madrid has one of the most modern and complete transport networks in the world.

The Mayor specially outlined two ideas. First, the experience in organizing high level sport competitions, both national and international, and second, the unanimous institutional and popular support (86 % of the Madrid citizens and 89% of Spaniards back the Olympic bid).

Finally, Ruiz-Gallardón concluded that “the citizens of Madrid and the visitors will be part of a sole and unique Olympic city with extra educational programs and everybody will share an exceptional experience that will remain in the hearts and memories of everybody for lots of years”, as the Madrid 2016 Olympic bid has assured the IOC.

Jaime Lissavetzky, Secretary of State for Sport, Alejandro Blanco, President of the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE), and Alberto López Viejo, Councillor for Sport of the Community of Madrid, also attended the presentation.

Jorge Híjar Alvir
Coordinador de Comunicación
jhijar@madrid16.es

Telf. +34 91 320 2016 / Móv. +34 650 803 412
Palacio de Cibeles, C/ Montalbán, 1
28014 Madrid

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