Paris stuns Olympic Committee

The words ‘historical’, ‘cultural’ and ‘iconic’ were all used by the Chair of the 2024 Evaluation Commission to describe Paris as it gears up to take on the mantle of Olympic host city.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo suggested in 2014 that the Olympics might be too expensive for Paris, but later backtracked. She then launched a large and extravagant campaign to prepare for the bid. “Our bid is driven by the ambition to share values with the world – humanist, ecological and democratic values. Paris is truly a global city,” she said.

In line with the reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020, both Los Angeles and Paris are planning to use a record number of existing and temporary venues, a first in Olympic history.

The Evaluation Commission added, “the two projects are different in nature, but each city presents a proposal which is genuinely authentic and reflects the best of what each has to offer”.

Paris has said it is only interested in hosting the 2024 games while Los Angeless has been more open about the 2028 Olympics.