Annecy 2018 unveiled its new bid plan at a press conference Monday in Paris in conjunction with the French Ski Federation, just three months before the bid book is to be submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
In what Annecy calls its “new, highly compact setup”, competition venues will be held around two main bases – Annecy and Chamonix Mont-Blanc – less than one hour apart and connected via a direct motorway link and the “Olympic train” within a 33 km radius. Each of the two bases will host both the snow and ice events.
As well as revamping its original plan, Annecy 2018 now has a new signature, “Snow, Ice and You!” , (“La neige, la glace et vous!” ) which “celebrates the natural elements which are the very basis of the Winter Olympic Games as defined in the Olympic Charter”.
Annecy 2018 says it has received the backing of 500 sportsmen and sportswomen from all areas of sport, summer and winter disciplines.
Edgar Grospiron, the bid’s CEO, called it a very important day for Annecy 2018. He said, “since we were selected by the IOC as a Candidate City in June, we have worked tirelessly to devise a network of competition venues calibrated to win, to design a signature which bears the force of our conviction and to come back to you, today, with the massive support of the sports world as a whole”.
Annecy is competing against PyeongChang and Munich to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.
More details to follow on GamesBids.com.
