OSAKA -- The city of Osaka made public on Tuesday its formal plans to host the 2008 Olympic Games, one week after presenting them to International Olympic Committee officials in Switzerland as stipulated by committee rules. Osaka's Olympic plans call for the majority of the 28 events to take place at 41 facilities in Osaka city. Total operating costs are estimated at around $2 billion, with about $770 million coming from television rights.
The opening and closing ceremonies are to take place in a yet-to-be-built 80,000 seat stadium on Maishima, a man-made island in Osaka Bay. The city hopes to host the Olympics between July 18 and Aug. 3.
Although Osaka had previously said it wanted to host a compact games with relevant facilities centered on one area, the plans unveiled Tuesday showed that some sports, notably soccer, would take place as far away as Saitama Prefecture in the Kanto region.