A team of 60 delegates representing Paris 2024 are en route to Lima, Peru to attend an International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session where the French Capital is due to be awarded the Olympic Games after its fourth bid since 1992.
After three consecutive losses, Paris will be handed the Games unopposed. Three of five applicants dropped out of the race and Los Angeles opted to accept a deal to host the 2028 Games instead, effectively conceding the 2024 contest to Paris.
Once a tripartite deal between the IOC, Paris and Los Angeles is ratified by IOC members, the two cities will sign contracts making them both three time hosts – equaling only London.
Among the 60 delegates will be Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, bid Co-Chairs Tony Estanguet and Bernard Lapasset, French Minister for Sport Laura Flessel and French Minister for Disabled Persons Sophie Cluzel.
French President Emmanuel Macron, a staunch bid supporter since his election victory in the Spring, will not be in attendance though he vowed to represent the project in Lima months ago. But after impressing the IOC during a July meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland where the tripartite deal was announced and a further assurance that Paris 2024 would be awarded the Games – the President’s attendance has become less critical.
Estanguet said Friday “We are excited to be heading to Lima to promote our unique vision for the 2024 Games to the IOC.
Décollage immédiat pour Lima ! On est prêt pour la dernière ligne droite. Impatient de partager ce grand moment. Merci à tous pic.twitter.com/mqzzsyKFxx
— Tony Estanguet – OLY (@TonyEstanguet) September 8, 2017
“Throughout our time in Peru, we want to highlight what Paris can offer the Olympic Movement, including a spectacular celebration of sport filled with passion and purpose and hosted in our stunning city centre.
“This promises to be an historic time for sport in Paris, in France, and in the entire Olympic Movement, and we cannot wait to share our enthusiasm with the entire Olympic Family.”
The IOC Session is set to kick of next Wednesday, September 13 and the IOC will vote to ratify the agreement Wednesday morning. Both Paris 2024 and LA 2028 will make 25-minute presentations to members before the host city contracts are signed in a short ceremony.
Celebrations, including a concert outside Paris’ City Hall, will be held shortly after the contract signing.
In past bid elections where the IOC has conducted member voting for the winning host city, individual delegations have often exceeded 300 people and included national leaders. Since this siting will be a double-allocation instead of a race, the proceedings have been toned down and will take a back seat to a much broader topic, the Olympic Agenda 2020 “half-time report” where IOC President Thomas Bach will no doubt extol how the two new sustainable bids and re-imagined process are the direct result of his Olympic road map.
Hamburg, Rome and Budapest dropped out of the 2024 race due to cost and risk fears and public rejection of the plans.
The IOC Executive Board meeting gets underway ahead of the Session on Monday, and the entire Session will wrap up Saturday.
GamesBids.com will be reporting from the scene in Lima all next week. Follow GamesBids.com on Twitter @gamesbids or on Facebook
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Some of the 60 Paris 2024 delegates to include:
Paris 2024 Bid Co-Chair and 3-time Olympic Champion Tony Estanguet
Paris 2024 Bid Co-Chair Bernard Lapasset
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo
President of the Île-de-France Valérie Pécresse
French Minister for Sport and two-time Olympic gold medallist Laura Flessel
French Minister for Disabled Persons, Sophie Cluzel
French IOC Member Guy Drut
Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français (CNOSF) President Denis Masseglia
Comité Paralympique et Sportif Français (CPSF) President Emmanuelle Assmann
Paris 2024 Bid CEO and Olympian Etienne Thobois
Two-time Olympic Judoka champion Teddy Riner
Three-time Olympic champion Marie-José Pérec
Paralympic gold medallist Michael Jeremiasz
Silver medal winning boxer Sarah Ouhramoune
Rio 2016 Refugee Olympic Team Chef de Mission Tegla Loroupe
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