Where are the 2020 Olympics going?

The IOC is just hours away from announcing the host city of the 2020 Olympic Games, choosing from one of Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul. While all three cities have their individual merits, they are each faced with their own individual problems. In this post I will be exploring these issues and which city is most likely to win.
 
Madrid
The Spanish capital is bidding for third consecutive Olympic Games after losing out to the cities of London and Rio de Janeiro in which they achieved 2^nd and 3^rd respectively. On that basis they could continue their upward trajectory and leave Buenos Aires with the rights to host the Olympic Games. However their bid is fraught with issues that harm their potential.
 
The most obvious issue is that the Spanish economy is in a terrible state (when I went their last October it became apparent that striking is the national pastime), undoubtedly the budget for the games would be restricted by the recession on the Iberian Peninsula.
 
However it should be noted that Madrid’s bid takes advantage of the city’s existing infrastructure and sports venues which in some respects makes it the safe option for the IOC to choose.
 
It could be argued that the Santiago train crash in July displays a weakness in Spain’s infrastructure although I do not think that the crash will drastically change the minds of any IOC members who would have considered voting for Madrid.
 
Tokyo
Bookmakers consider this to be the frontrunner in the race to host the games due to its good infrastructure and compact venue plan however like their competitors they have hurdles to overcome.
 
The biggest issue affecting Tokyo is the Fukushima Nuclear plant, which has been leaking radioactive water, and may be contaminating water in Japan. The worse part of this is that the Tokyo bid committee keep trying to downplay this rather than showing that they are trying to deal with this. People also seem to forget that Japan sits on the boundary of three tectonic plates and is prone to earthquakes which could slow down construction of venues in preparation for the games.
 
Istanbul
In my opinion this is the strongest bid of three, the Turkish economy is one of the fastest growing in the world and Istanbul is supported by a unique culture that sets it apart from the rest.
 
The Istanbul bid is hampered by high levels of doping within Turkey, which Lamine Diack, President of the IAAF, drew attention to earlier this year. To respond Turkey issued 31 2-year bans to athletes convicted of doping. In my opinion this shows that Turkey is determined to address the issues that affect sport in rather than turning a blind eye to these issues.
 
Earlier this year it became apparent that Turkey may not be as politically stable as was previously though amid anti-government protests, however these protests seem to be forgotten and I don’t think they will affect the outcome even though at the time of the protests I thought hope was over for Istanbul.

 
Overall each city has its unique charm and many are describing this as the closest race to host the Olympics in a long time however I feel confident that Istanbul will get the games, partly on the basis that they have never hosted the games before and due to economic prosperity within the Eurasian country that gives it the edge over the others.