Olympic Village, health services, security, accommodation, transport, technology, communications and media, olympism, culture, and required guarantees given by the state, municipality and private sector.
Istanbul first launched its bid to host the Olympic Games in 1992, and has applied three times so far. Over the past eight years a considerable number of sports facilities which originally existed only on the drawing board have been completed. The primary goals of the Olympic Games project are to create modern sports facilities for a city where the limited number of such facilities means that many young people spend their leisure time in the street or in coffee houses, and to make it possible for everyone to actively participate in sports of diverse kinds.
Istanbul Olympic Bidding Committee, which is responsible for the project, has so far spent 139 million dollars on new sports facilities in Istanbul, a sum equivalent to 86% of revenues generated by the Olympics Act passed in 1992.

Istanbul's preparations for the Olympics are therefore broad in scope and take a long-term perspective beyond the games themselves. As well as preparing the city for the Olympics, the aim is to make facilities available to all, so that sport becomes an inherent part of life for Istanbul's citizens, above all young people.

Nese Gundogan is sports director of the National Olympic Committee of Turkey.