Coghen: “The Tour Was Spectacular”

Coghen: “The Tour Was Spectacular”

Madrid, 6 May 2009

Mercedes Coghen, Madrid 2016 bid chief, and Manuel Cobo, vice-mayor of Madrid, summed up the day’s tour of the city’s Olympic venus which took place today with the members of the IOC’s Evaluation Commission as “spectacular”, with the visitors having acclimatized themselves in a sun-bathed Madrid.

The bid chief stressed the importance of punctuality in giving the IOC the best impression. “We wanted to be precise with our timings, and we managed that – in fact with 30 minutes in hand,” she said, also thanking the media who had covered the visit and the numerous volunteers who freely gave of their time at all venues ‘always with a smile’. “It all went off well,” she concluded.

Coghen appeared very pleased with the impact the visit made on the IOC visitors, even with Madrid being the last canidate city they visited. “We noted impressed faces in every venue.” Coghen also revealed how the Russian IOC member, Alexander Popov, stayed on the tour bus with her to travel to Madrid’s Club de Campo, the bid chief’s preferred hockey venue. (She herself won a gold medal for grass hockey at Barcelona ’92.)

Manuel Cobo restated how reliable the Madrid bid was with 77% of the venues either already built or underway. “We were able to see the proximity of Ifema to the Olympic Village and the IOC members could see for themselves how many venues we already have built,” before adding… “and the blue skies of Madrid were a great help!”.

ENDS

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