Cities vying for 2020 Games try to avoid IOC axe

The race to host the 2020 Summer Olympics reaches the first hurdle on Wednesday with five cities trying to avoid being dropped from the bidding marathon by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Istanbul, Madrid, Tokyo, Doha and Azerbaijan's Baku will try to convince an evaluation committee they are ready to stage the world's biggest sporting spectacle and remain in the high stakes runoff that will not conclude until September 2013 when the IOC will vote on a host in Buenos Aires.

Trimming the bids will be at the top of a busy 3-day agenda for the IOC, but the executive board is also expected to deal with several thorny issues, including Saudi Arabia's hesitation to send female athletes to the London Olympics.