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| A Precarious Olympic Bid for Istanbul | A Precarious Olympic Bid for Istanbul |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| ISTANBUL — There were hundreds of pairs of swim goggles for sale in the heart of Istanbul this past week, but while the goggles gave the bustling streets a certain sporty air, this was not good news at last for the city’s Olympic bid. | ISTANBUL — There were hundreds of pairs of swim goggles for sale in the heart of Istanbul this past week, but while the goggles gave the bustling streets a certain sporty air, this was not good news at last for the city’s Olympic bid. |
| The goggles were being snapped up for protection against the possibility of more tear gas in Taksim Square and the adjoining Gezi Park as the standoff between protesters and the Turkish police continued. | The goggles were being snapped up for protection against the possibility of more tear gas in Taksim Square and the adjoining Gezi Park as the standoff between protesters and the Turkish police continued. |
| Other gear for sale in the zone included plastic construction helmets, gas masks, surgical masks and all manner of souvenirs, like figurines of Turkey’s founder, Kemal Ataturk, and Che Guevara and Occupy Taksim T-shirts. | Other gear for sale in the zone included plastic construction helmets, gas masks, surgical masks and all manner of souvenirs, like figurines of Turkey’s founder, Kemal Ataturk, and Che Guevara and Occupy Taksim T-shirts. |
| The mood was unexpectedly upbeat on Thursday. There was an ad hoc evening piano concert in the square, and the only serious smoke was from roasting chestnuts and kebabs. But the timing of all this has hardly been a Turkish delight for those who hope Istanbul’s fifth bid for the Olympic Games will finally be the winning bid. Tokyo and Madrid are the other candidates. | The mood was unexpectedly upbeat on Thursday. There was an ad hoc evening piano concert in the square, and the only serious smoke was from roasting chestnuts and kebabs. But the timing of all this has hardly been a Turkish delight for those who hope Istanbul’s fifth bid for the Olympic Games will finally be the winning bid. Tokyo and Madrid are the other candidates. |
| “It is potentially a pity, since my impression, from what I hear, is that the 2020 race may be Istanbul’s to lose,” said Dick Pound, the longtime International Olympic Committee member from Canada, in an e-mail message. | “It is potentially a pity, since my impression, from what I hear, is that the 2020 race may be Istanbul’s to lose,” said Dick Pound, the longtime International Olympic Committee member from Canada, in an e-mail message. |
| Istanbul, if stable, is indeed potential catnip to the I.O.C. It is new and symbolic Olympic territory, a historic and contemporary bridge between Asia and Europe with a largely Muslim nation and a moderately Islamist government, challenging Turkey’s secular traditions. | Istanbul, if stable, is indeed potential catnip to the I.O.C. It is new and symbolic Olympic territory, a historic and contemporary bridge between Asia and Europe with a largely Muslim nation and a moderately Islamist government, challenging Turkey’s secular traditions. |
| Pound is not yet picking his favorite publicly, but the I.O.C. will do just that on Sept. 7 when it selects the 2020 host city by secret ballot in Buenos Aires. The vote is still nearly three months away, which means there is still time for Istanbul to put some meaningful space between the past week’s violent clashes in Taksim Square and the decision. | Pound is not yet picking his favorite publicly, but the I.O.C. will do just that on Sept. 7 when it selects the 2020 host city by secret ballot in Buenos Aires. The vote is still nearly three months away, which means there is still time for Istanbul to put some meaningful space between the past week’s violent clashes in Taksim Square and the decision. |
| As Pound rightly points out, “We might have the same concerns in any country that hosts the G-8 or G-20 conferences, and the seemingly mandatory riots.” But as Pound also points out, “the Western phobia about Islamic countries and ‘stability’ — however defined — makes it much worse.” | As Pound rightly points out, “We might have the same concerns in any country that hosts the G-8 or G-20 conferences, and the seemingly mandatory riots.” But as Pound also points out, “the Western phobia about Islamic countries and ‘stability’ — however defined — makes it much worse.” |
| But damage has clearly been done already. | But damage has clearly been done already. |
| “I believe in the young people of Turkey; I believe so much,” Hasan Arat, the chairman of Istanbul’s bidding committee, said in a telephone interview from Lausanne, Switzerland. “We will be stronger than before after these things finish with the peaceful solution.” | “I believe in the young people of Turkey; I believe so much,” Hasan Arat, the chairman of Istanbul’s bidding committee, said in a telephone interview from Lausanne, Switzerland. “We will be stronger than before after these things finish with the peaceful solution.” |
| That naturally remains debatable. But the situation does indeed need to be resolved — presumably peacefully — if the I.O.C. is not to lose much more faith in the judgment of Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the country’s political leadership. | That naturally remains debatable. But the situation does indeed need to be resolved — presumably peacefully — if the I.O.C. is not to lose much more faith in the judgment of Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the country’s political leadership. |
| “It’s going to be quite a roller-coaster ride for everybody involved in the bid up until September,” said Michael Payne, the former I.O.C. marketing director who is now a consultant and, on occasion, an informal bid adviser. | |
| Pound said, “I agree that September is some time in the future, but there will have to be some acceptable resolution of the situation that involves engaging with those who are not simply visiting anarchists.” | |
| A visit to Gezi Park and its hundreds of tents made the breadth of the movement clear. There was everything from tap-dancing to card-playing under the trees on Thursday; even people browsing through a uniquely independent bookstore that had been set up under a canopy with cinder blocks and planks providing the bookshelves. | A visit to Gezi Park and its hundreds of tents made the breadth of the movement clear. There was everything from tap-dancing to card-playing under the trees on Thursday; even people browsing through a uniquely independent bookstore that had been set up under a canopy with cinder blocks and planks providing the bookshelves. |
| There was a range of ages and socioeconomic classes in evidence. Some of the park’s occupants on Thursday looked like they might actually spend their lives in tents; others looked like they might be more at home in the tented camps of southern Africa, sundowners and dinner jackets de rigueur. | There was a range of ages and socioeconomic classes in evidence. Some of the park’s occupants on Thursday looked like they might actually spend their lives in tents; others looked like they might be more at home in the tented camps of southern Africa, sundowners and dinner jackets de rigueur. |
| But what was clear, in conversations behind the smoldering truck tires and the barricades of overturned cars, is that this will now be a very tricky situation to defuse and forget. The Olympics are hardly at the forefront of the debate, with the focus, above all, on preserving the park, a rare stretch of green in central Istanbul, from redevelopment. | But what was clear, in conversations behind the smoldering truck tires and the barricades of overturned cars, is that this will now be a very tricky situation to defuse and forget. The Olympics are hardly at the forefront of the debate, with the focus, above all, on preserving the park, a rare stretch of green in central Istanbul, from redevelopment. |
| “We don’t care about Olympics too much; we just want our freedom,” said one 21-year-old university student who declined to give his name for fear of reprisal from the government. | “We don’t care about Olympics too much; we just want our freedom,” said one 21-year-old university student who declined to give his name for fear of reprisal from the government. |
| “We want to save the environment; we want to save the green,” he continued. “They are destroying everything around the city, not only here in this park in Istanbul. All Turkey.” | “We want to save the environment; we want to save the green,” he continued. “They are destroying everything around the city, not only here in this park in Istanbul. All Turkey.” |
| Asked if he was aware these protests could negatively affect the city’s Olympic bid, the student nodded. | Asked if he was aware these protests could negatively affect the city’s Olympic bid, the student nodded. |
| “Of course we are concerned about that, but we don’t harm anybody,” he said, gesturing to his friend. “We don’t even harm the police. We just sit here and hope this place is going to be saved for two years, three years maybe. This is our Central Park. | “Of course we are concerned about that, but we don’t harm anybody,” he said, gesturing to his friend. “We don’t even harm the police. We just sit here and hope this place is going to be saved for two years, three years maybe. This is our Central Park. |
| “If they give the Olympics to Istanbul, it’s good of course for us, but I don’t think they will give it to Istanbul. Because there is really heavy traffic in Istanbul, and we can’t even handle that. How can we do it in Olympics?” | “If they give the Olympics to Istanbul, it’s good of course for us, but I don’t think they will give it to Istanbul. Because there is really heavy traffic in Istanbul, and we can’t even handle that. How can we do it in Olympics?” |
| The traffic is indeed brutal in this city by the Bosporus. The combined budget of $19 billion for Olympic costs and the city’s own infrastructure projects looks a bit daunting, too. But logistical challenges at this stage must be starting to look like child’s play to the bid leadership compared with the sociopolitical challenges that the Taksim Square demonstrations have laid bare. | The traffic is indeed brutal in this city by the Bosporus. The combined budget of $19 billion for Olympic costs and the city’s own infrastructure projects looks a bit daunting, too. But logistical challenges at this stage must be starting to look like child’s play to the bid leadership compared with the sociopolitical challenges that the Taksim Square demonstrations have laid bare. |
| Arat, the bid leader, a former professional basketball player turned businessman, said that he was concerned by the situation but that there was a positive side to the protests. He plans to explain that when he and the rest of the Istanbul bid team (politicians not present) make their presentation along with the Tokyo and Madrid groups to more than 200 national Olympic committees on Saturday in Lausanne. | Arat, the bid leader, a former professional basketball player turned businessman, said that he was concerned by the situation but that there was a positive side to the protests. He plans to explain that when he and the rest of the Istanbul bid team (politicians not present) make their presentation along with the Tokyo and Madrid groups to more than 200 national Olympic committees on Saturday in Lausanne. |
| “Yes, I’m worried,” Arat said of the protest’s repercussions. “But if we explain well how this thing starts and for what reason it starts, then people can appreciate that as well. It’s very good that your country’s young people are caring about their country and environmental issues, and I’m proud of them, very proud of them, honestly speaking, because when they care about their country, they care about their future.” | “Yes, I’m worried,” Arat said of the protest’s repercussions. “But if we explain well how this thing starts and for what reason it starts, then people can appreciate that as well. It’s very good that your country’s young people are caring about their country and environmental issues, and I’m proud of them, very proud of them, honestly speaking, because when they care about their country, they care about their future.” |
| Arat said he was not referring to those violent protesters he believed had corrupted the spirit of the movement. “Not the other people who are trying to hijack these fantastic feelings,” he said. | Arat said he was not referring to those violent protesters he believed had corrupted the spirit of the movement. “Not the other people who are trying to hijack these fantastic feelings,” he said. |
| Lower-key until now, this 2020 vote has become suddenly much more intriguing. If Turkey remains in an unsettled state, the I.O.C. will once again have to decide between a riskier choice that could generate societal change and safer options in Madrid and, above all, Tokyo that would reward stability. | Lower-key until now, this 2020 vote has become suddenly much more intriguing. If Turkey remains in an unsettled state, the I.O.C. will once again have to decide between a riskier choice that could generate societal change and safer options in Madrid and, above all, Tokyo that would reward stability. |
| That may be a shade too simplistic. Madrid, as Spain’s capital, represents a nation that is struggling economically. It also has a reputation — deserved or undeserved — as a paradise for sports doping. Spain could use a little societal change about now, too, and its government made a concerted attempt to address potential I.O.C. concerns by passing a new anti-doping law this past week. As for Tokyo, it represents the latest Japanese renaissance, this one after the huge earthquake and tsunami that devastated parts of the country’s east coast in March 2011. The Tokyo bid has not played that card. Nor does it plan to do so, but there clearly would be a greater mission to bringing the Games back to Tokyo, too. | That may be a shade too simplistic. Madrid, as Spain’s capital, represents a nation that is struggling economically. It also has a reputation — deserved or undeserved — as a paradise for sports doping. Spain could use a little societal change about now, too, and its government made a concerted attempt to address potential I.O.C. concerns by passing a new anti-doping law this past week. As for Tokyo, it represents the latest Japanese renaissance, this one after the huge earthquake and tsunami that devastated parts of the country’s east coast in March 2011. The Tokyo bid has not played that card. Nor does it plan to do so, but there clearly would be a greater mission to bringing the Games back to Tokyo, too. |
| They were staged there in 1964 and were staged in Spain in Barcelona, home city of the former I.O.C. president Juan Antonio Samaranch, in 1992. | They were staged there in 1964 and were staged in Spain in Barcelona, home city of the former I.O.C. president Juan Antonio Samaranch, in 1992. |
| Therein lies one of Istanbul’s big advantages. Turkey has never staged the Olympics, and Istanbul, with nearly 14 million inhabitants, is the largest city in Europe (or at least partly in Europe). Unlike Madrid and Tokyo, it has a fast-growing economy. | Therein lies one of Istanbul’s big advantages. Turkey has never staged the Olympics, and Istanbul, with nearly 14 million inhabitants, is the largest city in Europe (or at least partly in Europe). Unlike Madrid and Tokyo, it has a fast-growing economy. |
| The Games also have not been staged in a country with a Muslim majority. But all that catnip may not be sufficient if Erdogan remains tone deaf and something very nasty happens in Gezi Park. It was brimming with youthful enthusiasm on Thursday, which also made it feel like the sort of place that could break your heart. | The Games also have not been staged in a country with a Muslim majority. But all that catnip may not be sufficient if Erdogan remains tone deaf and something very nasty happens in Gezi Park. It was brimming with youthful enthusiasm on Thursday, which also made it feel like the sort of place that could break your heart. |
| “Be careful, get a helmet,” the 21-year-old student suggested as we parted ways near a pile of rubble. “Maybe the police come tonight.” | “Be careful, get a helmet,” the 21-year-old student suggested as we parted ways near a pile of rubble. “Maybe the police come tonight.” |