Coming off three days in Los Angeles, the International Olympic Committee’s Evaluation Commission made its way to Paris earlier this week. The Commission was evaluating the technical aspects of the plans of the two remaining candidate cities for the 2024 Olympic Games this week, and both projects were impressive.
After a day of meetings on Sunday, the 26 members of the Commission spent Monday touring 29 sites in and around the French capital that make up the Paris 2024 plan. They began at the Tour Eiffel, where they were afforded an aerial view of the city and its landmarks. From there they toured several sites in the Paris region before arriving at the Stade de France in St. Denis, where they were met by athletes, supporters and children. The area near the Stade de France, the Olympic Stadium in the Paris plan, would house both the aquatic center and the Olympic Village, both of which will have to be built.
Tuesday morning the Commission had breakfast at the Elysée Palace with the newly elected President Emmanuel Macron, who put his wholehearted support behind the project and indicated he would be present in Lausanne on July 11-12 for the candidate cities’ last presentations before the IOC’s election of the host on September 13 in Lima, Peru.
Patrick Baumann, the Commission president, told the press, “Today we saw the new President Macron and we had a good discussion. It did not allow time to lay out something new, but the President gives us his full support.” President Donald Trump did not make an appearance during the Commission’s visit in Los Angeles last week.
With two viable projects in Los Angeles and Paris, there is still the possibility that the IOC will award the 2028 Olympic Games to runner-up for 2024. Los Angeles has expressed interest in being considered for 2028, while Paris has made it very clear that they are only interested in hosting the 2024 Games.
The IOC has 2 outstanding birds in-hand & would be smart to monetize both.
After the Kazan embarrassment (licking Putin’s shoes for petro cash before the oils crash) & the disgraceful hit-and-run fleecing of Rio the IOC needs solid financial partners to carry the brand. Paris & LA are both perfectly suited. The IOC would be fools to burn one to accommodate the other.
These two cities will carry the brand for the next decade and bids that time for the IOC to evaluate what they will likely do after that: commit to a set of 6-8 cities to rotate the games around different continents. LA & Paris/London compete a nice hedge for IOC in North America and in continental… Read more »
The Royal treatent in Paris is the guillotine tto cheering crowds . I guess then LA would win .
Your last sentence is the most important. For Paris it’s all about 2024. And weirdly LA has let the door open for 2028. So unless a huge surprise IOC will make both cities happy with no loser by giving 2024 to Paris and 2028 to LA. It looks like a foregone conclusion.
I think you’re right.