By Duncan Mackay at the Grosvenor House in London

Suat Kilic_London_2012August 1 - Istanbul has been using London 2012 as a chance to find out about organising the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics if its bid is successful rather than as an opportunity to publicise its campaign, Turkey's Sports Minister Suat Kılıç (pictured) claimed here today.


Istanbul has adopted a noticably lower profile here than rivals Madrid and Tokyo but Kılıç insisted that this did not mean that they had not been making their presence felt behind the scenes.

"We have been deliberately keeping a low profile," he said.

"We have mostly had one-to-one meetings with senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials."

These included a meeting between IOC President Jacques Rogge and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who attended the Opening Ceremony at the Olympic Stadium last Friday (July 27). 

"Jacques Rogge was very professional and didn't really give us any clue [about the bid]," said Kılıç. 

"But the Prime Minister made the point that Istanbul is the only city where you can stage the Olympics on two continents.

"If I had been in Mr Rogge's chair I would have been very impressed."

Unlike the National Olympic Committees from Japan and Spain, Turkey have not rented a property here to help showcase their bid.

"We decided not to open an Olympic House because we believe that every penny should be spent on Turkey's athletes and preparing them to do their best in competition at London 2012," said Kılıç.

"We did the right thing, I believe."

Recep Tayyip_Erdogan_with_David_Cameron_Downing_StreetTurkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is greeted in Downing Street by British Prime Minister David Cameron during his visit to London 2012

Erdogan has also held talks here with British Prime Minister David Cameron, who has been closely involved in the final preparations for London 2012.

"London 2012 is a very important platform for Istanbul 2020," said Kılıç.

"We need to understand the Games much better so we can know how to stage the Games. 

"Organising the Games is not easy, it's really complicated.

"To sumarise what we have been doing here it is: Listen, watch and understand."

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