Rome withdraws bid for 2020 Olympics

PanARMENIAN.Net - Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti scotched on February 14 Rome's bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games, Reuters reports.

"We arrived at the unanimous conclusion that in Italy's current condition the government does not feel able to take on the commitment to offer the (financial) guarantee needed to host the Olympics," Monti said.

Italy has passed a series of tough austerity measures in the last six months in an effort to balance the budget and head off a debt crisis that threatens the whole euro zone.

The Italian PM said that trying to host the Olympics could "put at risk the benefits that we trust will be achieved by the sacrifices we have asked of Italians."

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno and the country's Olympic Committee (CONI) have been urging Monti for weeks to back the bid for 2020, 60 years after Rome last hosted the Games in 1960. His decision not to do so is likely to be controversial in a sports loving nation.

Doha, Madrid, Istanbul, Tokyo and Baku will bid for 2020 Olympic Games.

The 2012 Olympics will be held in London this summer, while the venue for the 2016 Games will be Rio de Janeiro.