France studies bid for 2024 Olympics
President Hollande has low-key meetings with sporting leaders to decide potential for ambitious new proposal
AFTER the failure to land the summer Olympics in 2012 and the winter Olympics for Annecy in 2018, France has started low-key preparations to mount a new bid to get the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 or 2028.
President Hollande met Sports Minister Valérie Fourneyron, national Olympic committee president Denis Masseglia and Comité Français du Sport International vice-president Bernard Lapasset earlier this week and asked them to look at the feasibility of launching a new bid – but led by the French sports community rather than the city of Paris itself.
Tonight Mr Hollande has a meeting with new International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach to update him on the plans.
Mr Lapasset told Le Figaro they were in the early stages of looking at what was possible, and were not yet ready to reveal firm plans or commitments.
We are “opening the files and putting the pieces of the jigsaw in place to let us, one day, decide whether to proceed or not”.
However, he added, all the groups involved – the state, the sports community, the regions and the business community – had to agree as this would strengthen a future candidature. A major decision would be on whether the Olympics would be held in Paris or “Greater Paris” (which would include much of Ile-de-France) as this would make a major difference to the strength of a bid.
Mr Hollande has already met the three French members of the IOC – skier Jean-Claude Killy, athlete Guy Drut and canoeist Tony Estanguet – and met IOC member Prince Albert of Monaco two weeks ago.
If France does go ahead it would face competition from Doha in Qatar and several African cities which have already announced projects and Mr Bach said on a recent trip to Italy that he welcomed a possible 2024 bid, saying “the games can serve as a catalyst for development for a city and a country”.
He has also called on the US to prepare a bid for 2024, with possible host cities including Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington.
The 2016 Olympic Games are in Rio, with Tokyo recently announced as host of the 2020 games.
