Turkey fully backs Istanbul's 2020 bid

By foxsports
Published

The Turkish government says the country is fully behind Istanbul's bid for the 2020 Olympics.

Sports Minister Suat Kilic says the bid has the ''the full, unequivocal support'' of the entire nation. He says ''Istanbul 2020 is uniting the nation behind the bid.''

He spoke at a news conference as details of the bid were disclosed Thursday. The bid file already has been submitted to the International Olympic Committee.

Istanbul is bidding for a fifth time after failed attempts for the Olympics of 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012.

It is competing against Madrid; Tokyo; Doha, Qatar; and Baku, Azerbaijan.