Turkish prime minister says choosing İstanbul as the host of the 2020 Olympics would amount to a peace message to counter the so-called clash of civilizations Today`s Zaman reported
Recep Tayyip Erdogan says his government is "strongly" backing İstanbul's fifth bid to host the games and that selecting the city, which straddles Europe and Asia, would strengthen the alliance between differing cultures and religions. Erdogan spoke during a televised address to the nation on Tuesday. He said İstanbul's rivals, Tokyo and Madrid, have already hosted the games twice before and it is İstanbul's turn to host the summer games.