(ATR) The French bid says it doesn’t fear politicians wrecking its Olympic ambitions after two failed campaigns.
World Rugby chief Bernard Lapasset and IOC member Tony Estanguet will be co-presidents of the French Olympic bid, it was announced Tuesday.
Olympic bid CEO Etienne Thobois revealed the leadership on the IOC’s deadline day for submission of the 2024 bids. It resembles the co-presidency structure used for the 1992 Albertville Winter Games and France 1998 FIFA World Cup.
In a conference call with reporters, Thobois said the bid had listened to the Olympic Movement about what it did right and wrong in its previous Olympic campaigns.
"There is a huge consensus now and a good understanding that there is no-one better than sportspeople to speak to other sportspeople," he said when asked how the bid planned to prevent government interference and bureaucracy derailing the Olympic quest, meddling that hurt the Annecy 2018 and Paris 2012 bids.
"We will have the athletes at the heart of this bid," Thobois said, saying the appointment of Estanguet, three-time canoeing Olympic champion and IOC Athletes’ Commission member, and Lapasset "a sport guy" was symbolic of the new strategy to land the Olympics.
"It’s not about pushing the politicians aside. It’s just recognizing that the sports movement should lead the bid with the full support of politicians. We are happy to have the support of all three levels of government," said the Paris 2024 CEO.
With five cities expected to be confirmed as candidates for the 2024 Games on Wednesday morning – Budapest, Hamburg, Los Angeles and Rome are the others – Paris is regarded as favorite.
But Thobois downplayed the French capital’s frontrunner status.
"I have heard that before in 2012. This is the last thing you want to hear about right now," he said. "We have a plan to deliver, and we have a project to feed and construct. There is a lot of work ahead of us.
"This is the kind of question we will ask ourselves in the middle of September 2017 [month of IOC vote].
"But right now, we are just humbly working on our own project, concentrating on what is important for the IOC, athletes, legacy and the development of the city," he added.
Thobois would not be drawn to comment on Los Angeles, which is expected to provide strong competition.
"There are some good contenders out there. It’s going to be a captivating race, I hope, and the Olympic Movement is going to benefit from that as a whole," he said.
Few details were revealed about the Paris 2024 bidding concept. But Thobois confirmed that open water swimming would take place in the Seine while the triathlon's swim event would have the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop.
The Paris 2024 bid budget will be $68 million, he confirmed.
No budget figures for Olympic infrastructure were disclosed, with Thobois saying only that the spending would be limited because most of the venues were already in place.
"We expect to have a very affordable plan for the Games," he said.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo said in a statement released by the bid that over the course of the bid campaign, "we will be highlighting Paris’ strength as one of the world’s most iconic, innovative, cosmopolitan, sporty and culturally rich cities whose historic landmarks and breath-taking venues would provide a stunning backdrop for the Games."
Reported by Mark Bisson
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