For months France has been considering a bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games, but never has it been closer to a reality than this week.
Organizers have had to overcome several roadblocks, including the opinion of Paris’ mayor Anne Hidalgo, who until February had been against the project. But now the mayor has endorsed what she calls a fiscally responsible bid and will put it to a vote of the city council on Monday, April 13.
Mayor Hildago has asked the council to support the movement and to participate in a task force presided over by Bernard Lapasset, comprising representatives of the national government, the regional government, and the city of Paris.
Paris has not hosted the Olympic Games since 1924, and a growing number of citizens are in favor of a potential bid. The Associated Press reported that a recent poll showed 73% of the French supported a Paris bid.
The French bid is not without its detractors. It will be a political battle, and the Green Party has already announced it will vote against the project for financial reasons. David Belliard, co-president of the group, warned the proposal “has underestimated the costs” involved. The leftist Danielle Simonnet, also a member of the city council, has said she will vote against the proposal as well.
Yet their voices are rather isolated, and most other members of the council seem to be in favor of the project. For one thing, proponents argue that most of the physical infrastructure is in place and therefore the budget would be half that of other cities’. Athletic structures such as Stade de France, Roland Garros already exist, and other structures, such as Grand Palais, can accommodate certain sports. What Paris lacks is an Olympic pool.
Reuters reported that Paris’ deputy mayor Jean-Francois Martins said Paris would build temporary facilities, much like London did for 2012.
Paris would join Rome, Hamburg and Boston as candidates for the 2024 Summer Games. Bids are due to the International Olympic Committee in September; the IOC will vote on the host city in 2017.
I’m from Boston, and I would LOVE the Olympics to come here (you could come stay with me, Bobo); but in the election this November there will be a vote re: whether Boston should host the event, and unfortunately I think a majority will vote against it. Of course it will be too late for the US to switch their bid to another city at that point, and I’m sure the IOC will not give the Olympic Games to Boston against the wishes of its citizens! Ugh!
And I think we’ll easily win. 🙂
Ok, perhaps I’m totally wrong but I have never seen so many arguments in favor of that French bid.
Boston is a serious rival but it must be said that the so conservative part of the American people helps us a lot. At least Fox Lies would have the opportunity to make plenty of false TV reports and tell plenty of false stories about Paris, as they did it 3 months ago after the terrorist attacks. You are used, as Americans, to their big lies 24/7, but on that occasion, most of French people have discovered that crazy wild outrageous US TV channel.
If IOC chooses France, next years will… Read more »
why does fox news mean so much to you???…most Americans actually think for themselves and understand propaganda on the right and left. Worry about your own issues before you pass judgement…French society has plenty (unemployment, immigration, ect) for you to worry about.