IOC studies Qatar as possible 2020 host

The IOC met in South Korea Friday to examine Qatar's possible candidacy for the 2020 Olympics, which is reliant on a request to push the Games back because of hot summer weather. Already chosen as hosts of the football World Cup in 2022, the Gulf state has requested to host the Olympics at the end of October and start of November instead of in the traditional window between July 15 and August 31. Four cities have already submitted bids to host the 2020 Games: Rome, Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul. International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said in a meeting with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that any decision concerning Qatar's bid would not be made public in South Korea. "I will listen to my colleagues and find a consensual opinion," Rogge said. "But we're not making a news release immediately, because we want to discuss with Qatar the decision that we make," he said a day before the world championships get under way in Daegu. The deadline for submitting bids is September 1 and the IOC will decide in September 2013 in Buenos Aires who will host the 2020 Games, which will follow the 2012 and 2016 editions in London and Rio de Janiero. Qatar was snubbed by the IOC in its bid for the 2016 Games despite tying with Chicago for third place and ranking ahead of Rio in grading by the IOC's evaluation commission because of its insistence that the Games move to October. The Qatari government had then proposed that the Games be hosted between October 15-30 to reduce the problem posed by high temperatures in the desert state that regularly top 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Other major sports competitions including European football leagues have opened their seasons by that time. Despite concerns over summer temperatures, Qatar launched a successful bid to host the 2022 World Cup. FIFA's decision was met with derision in some camps and was followed by calls to move the tournament away from its traditional June/July slot to January to avoid the scorching heat and humidity. There are currently engineers working on plans to provide air conditioning in the 12 stadiums set to host matches. Rogge added that he was disappointed that there was no US city in the bidding for 2020. "We would have loved to have a bid for 2020 emanating from the United States. The US is the country that has organised the most Olympic Games and has greatly contributed to the Olympic movement and the great quality of Games," Rogge said. "But we respect and understand the position of the US Olympic Committee and we hope that there will be good bids in the future beyond 2020."