All the venues on the site in East London are now complete but President Gül received the added bonus of seeing the Park in operational mode as his visit coincided with the first day of the Olympic handball test event at the new, multi-coloured Handball Arena.

The visit is particularly poignant for the Turkish President to get an up close and personal look at an Olympic Park as he is set to be a key figure in Istanbul's bid for the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Heads of state have become an important feature at International Olympic Committee (IOC) voting sessions, with then British Prime Minister Tony Blair playing a crucial role in bringing the 2012 Olympics to London prior to the vote in Singapore in 2005.

More recently, then Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin campaigned tirelessly in the closing hours for Sochi as they secured the right to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in 2007 and President Gül could well play a similar role for Istanbul.

The Turkish capital is widely considered one of the strongest contenders for the event in what is expected to be a heated six-way battle between Istanbul, Baku, Doha, Madrid, Rome and Tokyo.

President Gül arrived in Britain earlier this week with his three-day states visit to Britain primarily aimed at forging closer links between the economies of the two countries with Turkey seen as a growing economic power and an increasingly important trade partner straddling Europe and the Middle East – something that will no doubt be a huge boost to their 2020 bid.


Shortly before he was taken around the Olympic Park by Armitt, the Turkish President was welcomed warmly by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace while a traditional 41-gun royal salute fired for him by the guards.

President Gül's visit will also see him attend a state banquet and meet with Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron, as well as delivering a foreign policy speech at Westminster.

The last state visit to Britain by a Turkish President was made by Kenan Evren back in July 1988.

The Queen paid a state visit to Turkey in May 2008, less than six months after Prince Charles toured the Republic.

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