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DENVER -- Madrid organizers trying to land the 2016 Olympics are counting on memories of the enormously successful 1992 Barcelona Games to help their cause.

"The Olympic family members have a great souvenir from the Barcelona Games," Madrid bid chief Mercedes Coghen told The Associated Press. "I think the excitement and the energy that everybody felt in those games were incredible. You can talk about before and after the Barcelona Games regarding Olympic history, and that helps a lot.

"Because we can repeat it, even improve it, in Madrid," Coghen said.

Madrid's committee is also counting on two negative memories not having an effect on its bid: racist incidents in Spanish sports and the train bombings in Madrid five years ago.

Coghen will present Madrid's case on Thursday, joining the other bidders from Chicago, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. The presentation will be made at SportAccord, one of the largest gatherings of sports industry leaders.

The International Olympic Committee, which is holding its executive board meetings at the conference in Denver, will select the host city by secret ballot Oct. 2 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

All of the candidate cities are touting themselves as the most financially prudent option in these tough economic times.

Madrid calls itself the "safest choice" because it has 77 percent of venues ready or under construction. The proposed budget is just under $5.6 billion, with Spanish government guarantees to cover any surplus costs. It projects spending $317 million for new venues.

With about 3.5 million people in the Spanish capital and another 2.5 million in surrounding areas, Madrid is the smallest city among the four finalists.

"All of us are talking about compact projects, and we have a compact city," Coghen said.

The city's famous nightlife -- there are 33,000 bars and clubs -- is something organizers aren't shy about touting.

"If you like culture, you are in the right place. If you like to eat, you are in the right place. If you like to dance and to be outside, I think you are in the right place," Coghen said. "So, even if you are not a sports lover, you can come to Madrid to have a big human life experience."

This is Madrid's second consecutive Olympic bid. It finished third in the race for the 2012 Summer Games, which went to London.

Coghen said this bid is better. She reiterated Madrid's vision of a green Olympics with a reliable public transport network capable of ferrying spectators between venues near the Olympic village.

She said Madrid offers risk-free certainty.

"It's a combination of a lot of things that are under the 'safest choice'" motto, she said. "It's not just a question only of safety, talking about security items or finances. We are the bid with the most experience regarding organizing sporting events."

Madrid has staged 250 international sporting events over the last decade, including World Cups and international championships in cycling, softball, soccer, gymnastics and swimming, among other sports.

Coghen said the venues that would need to be built are not a complicated investment. They include the basketball arena, which Real Madrid will use before and after 2016, and the Olympic stadium, where the soccer team Atletico Madrid will be headquartered.

While Madrid is counting on the good vibes left by Barcelona, there's concern the 2004 train bombings could haunt the city's bid. On March 11, 2004, nearly 200 people were killed and 1,800 wounded when four early-morning commuter trains in Madrid were attacked with 10 bombs hidden in backpacks. Muslim militants claimed responsibility.

Coghen said she didn't think the attack would affect Madrid's bid.

"That's a global problem. See what happened in London [when Islamic radicals killed 52 people] two years ago?" Coghen said. "This is something that can happen everywhere, sadly, in every part of the world. But we have to say we are very well prepared regarding security because we have invested a lot in security."

Coghen also said she doesn't believe recent charges of racism in Spanish sports will harm the bid.

Last fall, European soccer's ruling body penalized Atletico Madrid because of violent and racist behavior by the club's fans during a game against Marseille.

Atletico denied all claims of racism, insisting that UEFA officials confused chants of "Kun, Kun, Kun" -- in support of the club's striker, Sergio Aguero, whose nickname is "Kun" -- with monkey cries. But sport's highest court upheld the ruling that Atletico Madrid had to play a match in an empty stadium as punishment.

The men's basketball team also posed for a publicity photo in which players used fingers to apparently make their eyes look more Chinese. That image emerged during the Beijing Games, and the photo continued to be used for publicity purposes in Spain long past the Olympics.

"I would like not to have [racism], but it's there," Coghen said. "We are always talking about inclusiveness. We want the Games to be for everyone. We have laws in place to fight against racism and violence in sport, and I think the government's really committed to that."

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press