Tokyo, Madrid, Istanbul shortlisted for 2020 Games

Quebec City, QC – Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul have made the short list of cities bidding to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, the IOC said Wednesday.

Two applicant cities -- Azerbaijan's Baku and Qatar's Doha -- failed to make the list.

The three candidate cities must now prepare a detailed description of their plans to host the Olympics and also face a visit from the IOC Evaluation Commission.

After that, the commission will publish a report on their assessment of Tokyo, Madrid and Istanbul as potential hosts.

The election of the 2020 host city will take place at the 125th IOC Session in Buenos Aires on Sept. 7, 2013.

The United States didn't submit a bid for 2020 after unsuccessful attempts for the last two Summer Olympics.

New York failed in its try to land the 2012 Games that went to London, while Chicago was the first of four finalists to be eliminated in voting for the 2016 Games that were awarded to Rio de Janeiro.

Tokyo, the 1964 host, and Madrid were also finalists for the 2016 Games. Doha and Baku were applicant cities that failed to make the final cut as official candidates.

Madrid was also a finalist for 2012. The last Spanish city to host an Olympics was Barcelona for the 1992 Summer Games.

Doha's failed bid included a request that the games be staged during a time frame from late September to late October in an effort to avoid the searing summer heat in the Middle East.

Istanbul has failed in four previous bid attempts, the last coming for the 2012 Games.