Italian President Napolitano, speaking on Friday at a celebration to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the 1960 Rome Olympic Games, declared that Rome has a dream: to host the 2020 Games.
Receiving all Italy's Olympic and Paralympic champions at the Quirinale, the President said,
“Dreams are subject to unpredictable events but our dream is based on firm ground: it is based on what Rome showed itself able to do in 1960 and is ready to do again.”
The President added that the 1960 Games had been a turning point for Rome and for the history of the Games, as they inaugurated the Paralympics which have been held at every edition since.
The 1960 Games are also remembered for the first Olympic drug scandal and for being the first Olympic Games to be covered on television. Abebe Bikila won the marathon in bare feet and a boxer called Cassius Clay [later Muhamed Ali] was introduced to the world. The 1960 Games are generally thought to have ushered in the modern Olympic era.
So far only Rome has declared its candidature for the 2020 Games. All the candidates must declare themselves by the end of 2011 and the winner will be announced in 2013.
Would you go to Rome for the Olympics?
