Madrid, 5 August 2009 – Exactly seven years today would mark the opening of the Madrid 2016 Olympic Games, a 59 day festival of sport starting 5 August 2016, if Madrid is successful in its bid to host the 2016 Games.

The Olympic Stadium, already in existence and located in the Core Zone of the Games, will host the Opening Ceremony which will promote Hispanic and Mediterranean cultures. Madrid will be the ‘Games with the Human Touch’ and this will be an important theme, maximising the participation and enjoyment of athletes in the central parade. 65,000 people will be a part of the event inside the Stadium with thousands more able to share the experience as the whole city turns into one Olympic Village to celebrate the spirit of the Games on Madrid’s streets.

Large screens will show footage of the Opening Ceremony across the main squares, streets and parks of the Spanish capital with music and performance creating a festival atmosphere. This city-wide fiesta will not stop when the Opening Ceremony does, but will continue throughout the 59-day event. Every sporting competition will be broadcasted across the city and celebrated in the streets by residents, Spaniards and visitors to Madrid, allowing everyone to feel part of the Olympic Family.

The 2016 Games may be seven years away, but it is not difficult to imagine what the Madrid Olympics will feel like. The Spanish capital currently has 100% of the urban infrastructure in place, 77% of the sports’ facilities and 100% of the passion, support and welcoming Mediterranean spirit. The climate is sunny, the streets are safe and the city is ready to host one of the best celebrations of the Summer Games ever, as Spain proved with Barcelona in 1992.

“Madrid is both a 24-hour city and a sporting capital. The Olympics is a fantastic celebration of life, including everything we can achieve through sport. In Spain we would ensure – with our flair and passion for sport – that the Madrid Olympics will be an event for the world to remember,” said Mercedes Coghen, chief executive of Madrid 2016.

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For further information please call Malcolm Munro on + 44 7795013006 or Nicky Blunt on +44 20 7861 3107

www.madrid2016.es

VNEWS Agency distributes Madrid 2016 footage relating to daily news of the Olympic bid. These videos are free of rights and can be accessed via satellite or FTP download. Please view samples at www.vnews.es (section Madrid 2016).

For further details, please contact Alberto Goytre or Carmen Bond at VNEWS, alberto.goytre@vnews.es, +34 662 361412.