Budget bid for Spanish Olympic games

A CRISIS-hit Spain hopes to win the 2020 Olympics by touting a cut-price bid.

Officials in Madrid have revealed a plan to beat rivals Tokyo and Istanbul with a ‘recession-friendly approach’ to the games.

Spanish Olympic Committee boss, Alejandro Blanco, has estimated the games will cost €1.6 billion – much less than the estimated €10.5 billion of last year’s London games.

Blanco stated the much lower cost was possible because 28 of the 35 proposed venues are already built.

However, it seems the committee has learnt a thing or two from London, opting to use city landmarks as venues to cut costs further.

For instance, the beach volleyball event, which was hosted at London’s Horse Guards Parade would take place in Retiro park, while the Las Ventas bullring would host the basketball event.

Prime Minister Rajoy was also quick to defend the bid, stating that Spain receives the third largest number of foreign visitors per year, with almost 58 million in 2012.

A final decision on which city will host the games will be made on September 7 in Buenos Aires.