Erdoğan, who had flown in here from St Petersburg, where he had been attending the G20 Summit, last night, had opened his speech to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session on behalf of Istanbul with "Salaam", which means peace.

"At this time the world craves peace and I send a strong message of peace to the world from Istanbul," he said.

"I send that message in all languages and all religions."

Indeed, "Istanbul will bring the world together" was very much the driving theme of the presentation.

The Games have never been held in a country where the population is predominantly Muslim.

Istanbul is a city where Asia meets Europe, where east meets west, and as one young speaker announced in a video it is a place where "Christians, Muslims and Jews all sit together and have coffee.

"Istanbul is open-minded, all race and religions are accepted.

"If they Games come to Istanbul the world will see the Muslim culture very differently."

Istanbul 2020 bid leader Hasan Arat led a presentation where Turkey promised to deal seriously with the country's doping problem

The civil war in neighbouring Syria has been one of the greatest challenges for Istanbul's bid, but IOC members seemed to be more concerned with Turkey's doping problem rather than the security situation in the region.

After being plagued by positive tests amongst their athletes Turkey today promised to continue their anti-doping regime with a zero tolerance approach to performance-enhancing drugs, which included the introduction of a new law which criminalised doping. 

"We have only one policy - zero tolerance for doping," said Professor Uğur Erdener, President of the National Olympic Committee of Turkey (NOCT) and a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency Executive Committee.

"Education is most important as there are a lot of stakeholders."

Istanbul 2020 claimed that all the projects are fully funded and they are ready to begin work on preparing for the Games right now.

"This is not a Games for uncertainty or austerity, it's a Games for growth," said Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan. 

"There will be no risk.

"No bureaucracy.

"No delays."

IOC President Jacques Rogge and his ruling Executive Board prepare to hear the presentation from Istanbul 2020

Hasan Arat, leader of Istanbul 2020, hopes that the presentation will help swing support behind their bid.

"Quite simply, Istanbul is the historic choice," he said.

"Hosting the 2020 Games in Istanbul offers the Olympic Movement and the world a brand new experience in a brand new country and a brand new culture.

"Istanbul 2020 will be the first Olympic Games to be held on two continents simultaneously; it will be the first Games in a predominantly Muslim nation; and it will be the first Games in a country where nearly 50 per cent of the population is under 25-years-old.

"Istanbul 2020 is Turkey's national priority number one.

"Our bid has the passionate and wholehearted support of the entire country, from the Prime Minister and the President, from Turkish business and especially from the millions of our young people who are represented here by our 50 young ambassadors.

"All of our hopes and dreams are now in the hands of the IOC."