Election of 2020 Olympic hosts to be competitiv

The selection of the 2020 Olympic Games' host from among Madrid, Tokyo and Istanbul, to be decided here Saturday, will be "very competitive", Argentine Olympic Committee (AOC) president Gerardo Werthein has said.

He said Friday that the cities' delegations have done much lobbying, which "is not aggressive but is very active". The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is holding its 125th general assembly session here where the successor of Belgian Jacques Rogge as its president, will also be announced, reports Xinhua.

"Each city has brought the best they have as well as solid arguments to prove each one is the best candidate. The three cities have worked with much order, respect and passion. This will be a very competitive final," said Werthein.

Each city will have 45 minutes Saturday to present their arguments and later there will be 10 minutes for questions. The voting will begin around 3 p.m. local time and two hours later the winner will be announced.

Werthein praised IOC president Rogge, whose successor will be announced Tuesday, saying he is "the president of transparency, integrity, democracy and anti-doping fight".