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(ATR) Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger tells Around the Rings he is impressed with the Annecy 2018 Winter Olympics bid pitch at SportAccord.
Making his first public appearance in support of the French bid at the London conference, he told ATR the French bid's presentation to delegates was "very good, dynamic, very modern and very engaging".
"I like the idea it is supported by all the great sportspeople we have in our country," he added.
Wenger was the star turn for Annecy, despite playing no part in the Annecy presentation team. He was not officially announced as a bid ambassador but clearly was well-briefed on key elements of the bid and was pounced on by media covering the event.
The manager of the north London Premier League club is familiar with the Alpine town having taken his Monaco players there "for many years" when he was boss of the French club.
"Annecy is a very beautiful city, they have good facilities and very good hospitality. And the French cuisine was not bad as well," he added.
Wenger, who had an ambassador role for the failed England 2018 World Cup bid, was asked by reporters if he thought the 2018 bid campaign would be more transparent than the FIFA bidding race, which was tainted by a cash-for-votes scandal that led to suspensions for two members of the FIFA Executive Committee.
"I think on the Olympic side they have worked a lot on the way things are done and that's maybe a good example to take for football," Wenger said.
"I am confident the [Annecy] bid is good. I don't know exactly what the other candidates will do," he said.
Asked if he would be meeting IOC members to lobby for Annecy 2018, he added: " I don't know, I am available."
Wenger's optimism failed to hide what was a largely underwhelming Annecy presentation to SportAccord delegates.
While there was plenty of talk of the Alps beinga mecca for winter sports fans, there was no compelling reason communicated about why Annecy deserved to host the Winter Games.
Speeches by bid chairman Charles Beigbeder and French IOC member Guy Drut were supported by messages given by sports minister Chantal Jouanno and Dennis Masseglia, president of the French Olympic committee, who was the only member of the team to speak in French.
As with Munich's presentation, Annecy's pitch was a few minutes under the allocated 30 minutes.
Jouanno talked about the government's support and said Beigbeder, who replaced Edgar Grospiron as bid leader two months ago, had "brought energy and dynamism to this campaign".
Conspicuous by his absence from the Annecy bid team was French IOC member Jean-Claude Killy, although he didappear with a message of support in one of three videos shown.
At the IOC Evaluation Commission inspection of the French bid, Killy underlined his supportbut insisted he could not be at every bid event on the road to the July 6 IOC vote due to other work commitments.
In the video, the triple Olympic downhill champion said Annecy had ann "exceptional program to stage a historic Games".Alluding to the bid's "Snow, ice and you" slogan, he said: "Our first priority is sport and we certainly know how to do that."
Mayor of Annecy Jean-Luc Rigaut gave a good reason why an Olympics in Annecy would be something special for the Olympic Movement.
"We are mountain people who live and breathe winter sports. We have seven million visitors every year," he said, adding that the long-term benefits for the community were aligned with a regional development strategy.
One of the videos also flashed up some powerful messages about why Annecy might be a good choice for the IOC - 'The world's number one winter sports destination' and 'Chamonix, the birthplace of the Winter Olympics [1924]. To the backdrop of a buzzy soundtrack, it showed views of the Alps and Annecy, 'The Venice of the Alps' and Mont Blanc.'
Beigbeder said the 1924 Games had accelerated winter sports developments in the Alps but now was the time "to evolve a new vision to sustain mountains and communities, to reinvigorate winter sports and connect with the youth of the world."
The video showcasing the city's Olympic venues plan also ended with an impressive series of stills showing the architectural renderings of a few of the most iconic arenas, including the stunning main stadium for the Games that would be built right on the edge of Lake Annecy.
Written and reported in London by Mark Bisson
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