MADRID -- Madrid's 2020 Olympic bid committee says it has appointed Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol to act as one of its spokesmen.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the committee says Gasol, one of Spain's most well-known athletes and a two-time Olympic silver medalist, will address the International Olympic Committee during Madrid's final presentation in Buenos Aires next month.
Madrid is vying with Tokyo and Istanbul for the 2020 Summer Games, and the IOC will deliver its decision in Argentina on Sept. 7.
In the statement, Gasol says the Olympics are "more than sport" and Madrid needs the boost the games would provide.
Spain has been in recession for most of the past four years and has a 26.3 percent unemployment rate.
