A Lausanne 2020 Youth Games delegation is en-route to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to present its bid in front of 100 members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 31.
Members of the delegation include Patrick Baumann, President of the bid committee, Secretary General of the candidature committee Denis Pittet, President of Swiss Olympic Jorg Schild, and the Swiss members of the IOC.
Baumann said, “we have finally arrived at the end of the bid phase and we are very happy to present our project one last time. We really hope to convince and come back home with good news. In any case, we know we have done everything we could to succeed up until today”.
Pittet added, “all of this work would not have been possible without a welded, united and ultra-professional team. Each person has given its best, so it is with pride in the work we have accomplished until today that we are heading to Kuala Lumpur”.
Lausanne is considered the front-runner in the race against Brasov, Romania for the Youth Olympics after receiving a more favourable evaluation report. This year the city is celebrating its 100th anniversary as the home of the IOC headquarters.
The two cities will be on the election ballot at the IOC’s 128th session on July 31 on the same day the Olympic membership votes for the hosts of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, a separate contest between Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Brasov will also be sending a high-level delegation to Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, more than 3,000 companies have actively shown their support for the Lausanne 2020 bid. Through an initiative from the local umbrella organization “Lausanne Region Economy” (ERL), they have joined the Lausanne 2020 support committee to highlight their enthusiasm for the Youth Games in Lausanne.
Pittet commented, “to know that the Youth Olympic Games are a project that can truly mobilize our region’s economy is terrific. We now have to share this enthusiasm with the International Olympic Committee IOC) in a few days in Kuala Lumpur. If the verdict is in favor of Lausanne 2020, our ambition is to capture this occasion for the youth, for sport, for the economy”.
