Olympics: Hiroshima considering 2020 Olympic bid+

TOKYO, Oct. 10 Kyodo -
The city of Hiroshima is considering bidding to host the 2020 Summer Olympics,
sources close to the matter said Saturday.

Hiroshima plans to consult with the Japanese Olympic Committee in the near
future after Tokyo's failed bid for the 2016 Games, which went to Rio de
Janeiro, according to the sources.
Hiroshima, one of the two Japanese cities hit with U.S. atomic bombs during
World War II, is expected to promote world peace through hosting the Olympics
if it decides to make a bid.
Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba has called on the rest of the world to join
forces to eliminate all nuclear weapons by 2020.
In an international peace meeting in Mexico City last month, Akiba said that
eliminating all nuclear weapons by 2020 is feasible and expressed hope that the
Olympics will be staged in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that year to celebrate a
nuclear-free world.
A press conference to be attended by Akiba and Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue
will be held on Sunday.
Tokyo has not decided whether to bid for the 2020 Olympics. Only one city may
apply from each country.
The International Olympic Committee will select the 2020 host city in 2013.
Hiroshima hosted the Asian Games, the regional version of the Olympic Games, in
1994. About 7,300 athletes from 42 countries and regions participated in the
event.
==Kyodo
2009-10-10 23:17:59