Tokyo chosen as "safe pair of hands" to host 2020 Olympics Tokyo will host the 2020 Olympics after winning the race to hold the world's biggest sporting event against Istanbul and Madrid, the International Olympic Committee announced in Buenos Aires on Saturday. Tokyo won 60 votes in the second round of voting, leaving Istanbul trailing with 36 votes, after tying with Madrid in the first round and then narrowly beating the Spanish city in an elimination tiebreaker. The contest had been marred by serious reservations about each of the candidate cities - from radiation concerns in Japan, to the economic crisis in Spain and demonstrations in Turkey, combined with its proximity to Syria. But Tokyo, which was considered the favourite, succeeded in easing worries raised recently about new radiation hotspots at the Fukushima nuclear plant and the government's ability to manage them. Let me assure you that the station is under control. It has never done and will never do any damage to Tokyo," said Shinzo Abe, prime minister, during Tokyo's presentation on Saturday, promising to take personal responsibility of the situation and "drastic resolutions." "It poses no problems whatsoever and I ask that you read through the headlines and instead appraise the true situation," he added, saying that the radiation is isolated to an area of 0.3 square km. Pundits considered that Tokyo delivered the strongest presentation, which played on Japan's reputation as "a safe pair of hands" and its capacity for "guaranteed delivery," as well as its proven talents for innovation and technology. The presentation also highlighted the commercial potential of the proposal, which has won 21 corporate sponsors, and the plans for an ostentatious stadium that will become a major new landmark. "The government of Japan welcomes this decision as a significant achievement in the field of sports-based international exchanges," said Fumio Kishida, Japan's minister for foreign affairs. This outcome was achieved through the hard work and dedication by various parties concerned. Istanbul, which came in second, delivered an ambitious proposal that was pitched as an "historic choice," since it would be the first Olympics in a predominantly Muslim nation, in a city that straddles two continents. During Turkey's presentation on Saturday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister, emphasised that Istanbul was a "city of friendship and brotherhood" and that holding the games there would send a strong message "at a time when the world craves for peace." "Let us build bridges together, let us make history together," he said. Amid growing concerns about Brazil's ability to meet deadlines for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016, the presentation also underlined the feasibility of Istanbul's proposal. Ali Babacan, deputy prime minister, assured that the budget was "financially responsible" given the economy's resilience, claiming that it will be the fastest growing economy in the OECD between now and 2020, putting it among the top 10 economies in the world, with GDP per capita already having tripled in the last decade. Istanbul's presentation also highlighted the importance of the country's large youth population, with almost half of its 74m population under the age of 25, as well as boasting one of the lowest youth unemployment rates in Europe. Madrid was knocked out in the first round of voting after failing to assuage doubts about Spain's economic crisis, in spite of having the cheapest proposal by far, claiming it will cost the government just $1.9bn, with about 80 per cent of its infrastructure already built. Mariano Rajoy, Spain's prime minister, assured the IOC on Saturday that the country's economy was on the road to recovery, highlighting growth in exports and a current account surplus not seen since the 1980s. Separately, Mr Rajoy was expected to meet Argentina's president, Cristina Fernández, to discuss Argentina's nationalisation last year of the local assets of Spain's Repsol. Both have sparred with the UK recently over Gibraltar and the Falklands Islands, respectively. The leaders of each country flew into Buenos Aires for the IOC meeting straight from the G20 summit in St Petersburg in a last-minute push, hoping to have a similar impact to Tony Blair, who helped propel London's 2005 bid to victory, unlike US President Barack Obama's unsuccessful efforts to secure Chicago's attempt four years ago. In the most significant meeting for the Olympics in a generation, which transformed downtown Buenos Aires into a hive of speculation and frantic lobbying amid heavy security, there will also be votes to include new sports in the games and to elect a new president for the IOC, perhaps the most influential job in sport. Although Istanbul reached second place, the defeat is a particular blow to Mr Erdogan who championed the bid, which he placed at the centre of a huge infrastructure programme for his home city. "This is one of the few major defeats that Erdogan has had to face," said Henri Barkey, a Turkey expert at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, who described the vote as a second shock to the Turkish government after mass protests that rocked much of the country in June. Mr Barkey argued that it could also have consequences for Turkish domestic politics, suggesting that if the bid had triumphed Mr Erdogan's ruling AK party would have been virtually certain to hold on to Istanbul in municipal elections next year. Additional reporting by Daniel Dombey in Istanbul