Shanghai sporting authority says the public misread Olympics notice

Sporting authorities in Shanghai said in a statement on Wednesday night that some media outlets and web users had mistakenly jumped to the conclusion that Shanghai plans to bid on hosting the Olympics.

The conclusions were based on a government notice that shows the city is enlisting a research agency to carry out feasibility studies related to the Games.

According to the notice made public on zfcg.sh.gov.cn, the Shanghai sports bureau is spending 640,000 yuan ($92,000) on hiring an institution called Shangti sports and health research center to carry out the feasibility studies.

The studies should include project organization, background analysis, and estimations on the event's requirements, Shanghai's conditions, and its difficulties in hosting the Games, and the studies should be completed before Feb 28, the notice read.

In the statement posted on its official website on Wednesday night, the sports bureau said that, under the goal of making Shanghai an internationally first-class city for sport events, it launched a wide range of research. The feasibility studies related to possibly hosting the summer Olympics are among the studies that Shanghai is carrying out in a number of areas and will serve as fundamental research in constructing the competition system in the city, the bureau said.

"We hope the media and netizens do not over-interpret it," the statement added.

Shanghai has been the host city of a slew of regular international sports events, including the Shanghai Masters, Formula 1 motor racing, and the Shanghai Diamond League.