It included a promise to turn the whole of the Spanish capital into "one great Olympic Village" so everyone could experience the sensation of the Games. 

 

Leading figures in Spanish sport joined the Madrid bid team and the city’s Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón (pictured) in Beijing to unveil a united vision for an Olympic and Paralympic Games in which everyone can live the ideals of sport, they claimed.

 

Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior, the son of former International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, said: “Madrid is a bid which puts the values of sport at the very heart
of the city as a whole.

 

Samaranch, who is an IOC member himself, said: “Madrid is a safe bid for the Olympic movement.

 

"The bid not only ensures a great sporting legacy in terms of venues and infrastructure but also
will leave a strong social legacy to inspire the rest of the world.”

 

Madrid was considered unfortunate not to beat London to win its bid to host the 2012 Olympics.

 

It will be up against Chicago, Rio de Janiero and Tokyo to host the 2016 Games when the IOC picks its choice at its Session in Copenhagen in October 2009.

 

Mercedes Coghen, a member of Spain's Olympic gold-medal winning hockey team the last time Spain hosted the Games in Barcelona 16 years ago and now the chief executive of Madrid's bid, said: “Madrid is a city that wants to do more than aspire to the Olympic ideal; it wants to live those values through the Games with the human touch.        

 

"We want the people of Madrid and visitors to have the opportunity to live the sensations and emotions that the athletes experience in the Olympic Village. 

 

"That’s why we are going to transform the whole city of  Madrid into one great Olympic Village. 

 

"We have a technically strong Olympic project with more than 70 per cent of the infrastructure already built and the rest assigned.

 

"The Olympic village will be the symbol of the Madrid 2016 Games with common space between buildings so athletes from different sports can mix together.  

 

“25 of the 30 sport venues will be less than 12 kilometres from the centre of Madrid and all venues will be united by an extraordinary public transport network to create a Games where there is really no need for private transport.”

 

Ruiz-Gallardón, said: “We have designed the Games of Madrid as the ‘Games of the People’. 

 

“The Madrid delegation is in Beijing to learn as much as possible from the Chinese experience to ensure that their bid is as strong as possible. 

 

“Nine out of ten people in Spain support the Madrid’s aspiration to host the Olympic Games.

 

"The city has a balanced environmental situation and it offers one of the best and most modern sports facilities networks in the world.  

 

“Madrid is also a safe and welcoming city and Spain has one of the world’s biggest tourist sectors."