Leaders, royalty arrive for IOC meet

Heads of state and government, members of the royalty and world class athletes from Spain, Japan and Turkey have begun arriving here for Saturday's 125th session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to select the venue of the 2020 Olympics.

The selection will be among Madrid (Spain), Tokyo (Japan) and Istanbul (Turkey). Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Prince Asturias Felipe and Princess Letizia and the Mayoress of Madrid Ana Botella are expected in the city, Xinhua reported.

Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Margallo, the Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism Jose Manuel Soria and the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports Jose Ignacio Wert are also expected. Among the Spanish athletes that will arrive is Pau Gasol, basketball player from NBA Los Angeles Lakers and champion with the Spanish team.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will arrive Saturday, after they attended the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, which ended Friday.

The Argentinian city also expects the presence of members of 15 royal houses such as Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, Constantine II of Greece and Albert II of Monaco, Princess Anna of England and Prince Frederik of Denmark. Also, Princess Nora of Liechtenstein, Prince Feisal bin Al Hussein from Jordan and Princess Akiko of Mikasa from Japan are expected to arrive.