The two cities both published the results of their polls today with Baku's figures significantly higher than the 65.7 per cent who backed the campaign in the Japanese capital. 

The nationwide survey, carried out by Baku last month, also claimed that 93 per cent of respondents believed that hosting the Games in the Azerbaijani capital would have a positive impact on sport throughout the country.

In addition, 50 per cent of people polled in Azerbaijan said they would buy tickets to the Games and 30 per cent claimed they would volunteer. 


"This poll confirms what we believed – that the bid enjoys wholehearted support, all the way from the President of the country to the very youngest children in the school playgrounds," said Konul Nurullayeva (pictured above third left), the chief executive of Baku 2020.

"The bid is also enthusiastically supported by our National Olympic Committee and our sports federations, our business community and the citizens of Baku.

"Our bid is about more than simply asking the Olympic Movement to allow Baku to host the 'world's greatest spectacle'.

"Bringing the Olympic Flame to Baku for the first time in 2020 will allow our country to fulfil its sporting potential, giving an enormous boost to the development and diversification of sport and society in Azerbaijan – and even further beyond.

"Azerbaijan has a very young population – more than 50 per cent are under the age of 30.

"With this bid, together we can develop, inspire and empower millions of young sportsmen and women – together we can also accelerate the development of team sports as well as introduce new sports into the country.

"And if we are awarded this great honour, with the Olympic Movement, together we can spread the values of Olympism to a region of the world that will benefit enormously from these values, putting sport and its importance at the forefront of our society."

In contrast, Tokyo's figures appear disappointing, especially as their unsuccessful bid for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics was undermined by poor public support.

But Tokyo will point to the fact that their poll, conducted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, surveyed 4,000 people, compared to 1,000 in Azerbaijan, and that 65.7 per cent still translates to tens of millions of Japanese backing the campaign. 

They will also be aware that, while they are almost certain to be put on the short-list when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Committee announces its decision in Quebec City on May 23, Baku still must convince people that they deserve to make the move from Applicant City to Candidate City status.

Baku are rated by British bookmakers William Hill as the 14/1 outsiders while Tokyo are the 2/1 favourites.


"These [poll] results indicate that some 80 million people across the whole of Japan are behind our bid," said Tokyo 2020 President and Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda (pictured).

"This is wonderful news for Tokyo2020, and will serve as a further motivation for us to bring the Games to Tokyo."

"Our bid for the 2020 Games has only been underway for a few short months, and we have not yet made public the details of our plans. Despite this, however, we have still managed to garner a 65.7 per cent support rate for the bid.

"Since Tokyo 2020 was established in September last year, the national Government, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, both Houses of the Japanese Diet, and the political, business and sporting communities have declared their full support for our efforts.

"And now this extremely encouraging news regarding domestic support rates has been the icing on the cake.

"We are currently finalising the details of our Applicant File, which must be submitted to the International Olympic Committee by 15 February

"We will, of course, include the recent domestic support rate figures in the file, and I am sure that this will send a clear message to the IOC that the whole of Japan is united in its efforts to ensure that Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Games is successful.

"We plan to publicly release the details of our bid once our file has been submitted to the IOC, and I am certain that this will lead to a further rise in the domestic support rate."

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