- Title: OLYMPICS-PARIS Paris enters race for 2024 Olympic Games hosting
- Date: 23rd June 2015
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (JUNE 23, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** WORLD JUDO CHAMPION TEDDY RINER ON STAGE ATHLETES ON STAGE PHOTOGRAPHERS HIDALGO AND OFFICIALS APPLAUDING RINER SHAKING HANDS WITH JOURNALISTS RINER BEING INTERVIEWED (SOUNDBITE) (French) WORLD JUDO CHAMPION, TEDDY RINER, SAYING: "We're going for it and we are going to fight, do whatever it ta
- Embargoed: 8th July 2015 13:00
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- Location: Switzerland
- Country: Switzerland
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA17LIMN3VINL0ZY275HEP26X6V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Paris on Tuesday (June 23) officially announced its bid to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games and bring the global sports event back to the French capital for the first time in a century.
The announcement in Paris, which narrowly lost out to London in the battle to host the 2012 Olympics, marks the start of a two-year selection process where the world's most visited city will face off against the likes of Rome for the right to play host.
"We're going for it and we are going to fight, do whatever it takes to obtain the organisation of the games in 2024. It is important to us, athletes. But the (Olympic) games are not only for sport athletes, it's much more than that, it's a project, a great adventure that will take place, I hope, in France, in Paris with everyone," said World judo champion Teddy Riner at the end of a ceremony held in Paris with officials and sport athletes.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will announce the candidate cities that made it to the shortlist in 2016, before the vote of the host city in summer 2017.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo was reluctant about the potential cost but endorsed the idea in March after a study said the city's existing infrastructures should help limit outlays, putting the hosting budget at 6.2 billion euros.
Officials said that hosting the games would bring a huge energy to the French capital and the country in general.
"I think the most important thing is to be able to give the ambition we all carry in our heart, the effort you have to carry daily when you are an athlete. Really today, this signal is perfect to talk about a winning France," Bernard Lapasset the president of French committee for international sports said.
Paris will be competing for the 2024 honours with cities including Boston, Hamburg and Rome, which lost out to Paris in the bidding contest when the French capital last got to host the games in 1924.
"We failed three times and we analysed the reasons of the failures. Last time we failed by four votes, four votes for London 2012. This time we considered these assessments but the main thing is that the sport movement will lead this candidacy, the politicians will go along but won't be on the front line," Patrick Kanner, the French Sports Minister, said.
Paris's Olympic plan, backed by the City Hall and French President François Hollande, took some time to emerge.
Hollande had appeared beside the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach in April in Lausanne, Switzerland at a news conference held at the IOC headquarters during which Bach had backed a exemplary candidacy to hold the 2024 Games saying Paris would make a "very, very strong candidate" for 2024. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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