The biggest sporting decision of the weekend will take place away from any field of play at a gathering of the International Olympic Committee in Buenos Aires.
On Saturday the announcement will be made on which city will host the 2020 Olympic Games.
Istanbul, Madrid and Tokyo are the three left in contention and each has spent much of the last year involved in detailed planning and presentation in the hope of winning the favour of the IOC members who will make the choice.
Here are four considerations from an Irish perspective that might help you to decide whether it is worth cheering or groaning when you here the winner.
Time
Madrid will be one hour ahead of Ireland and Istanbul two hours ahead meaning most of the high profile events will be televised live in Irish prime time. Tokyo is a more inconvenient eight hours ahead meaning if the final of the 100 metres is held at 8pm local time, we will be setting alarms for 4am.
Travel
If you are planning to be there as a competitor, official or fan you will be concerned about how long it will take to get there. Madrid is 2,313 KM away and the wonder that is Google Maps tells us it would take 23 hours driving non stop to reach. Istanbul is 3,596 KM and you would certainly need a tag team of drivers to make it in 36 hours. Tokyo is 9,581 KM South East of us and the time taken, as well as the large expanses of water to be crossed has defeated the algorithms
Cost
Obviously the cost around the two weeks of an Olympic Games will be higher, unless you get to stay in the Olympic Village, but a morning experiment using Expedia gives a comparison of what it will cost for familiarisation trips and such like. A two week stay in a two star hotel in Madrid with flight and taxes travelling Saturday to Saturday would cost a minimum €506. The same to Istanbul would be €647. Tokyo, where accommodation can be more akin to a morgue than a traditional European or US style hotel room, will still set you back €1,039. Time to start saving.
Likelihood
If you would prefer to be in a position where you can tell friends tonight that you know where it will be in advance, your best guide might be the betting markets where Tokyo has the edge at around even money. Madrid is second favourite at around 6/4 and Istanbul, rocked by riots and drug scandals is the outsider, but still only at odds of around 4/1.
Sports Tourism Seminar at Croke Park (September 19th)
Sport for Business 20/20 at Ulster Bank HQ (October 8th)
The Business of Youth Sport Seminar (November 28th)
