Reporting from Lausanne, Switzerland – French President Emmanuel Macron will lead the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic bid delegation in its presentation to International Olympic Committee (IOC) members in Lausanne, Switzerland Tuesday, the bid has confirmed.
His visit to Switzerland follows the promise the President made hours after his inauguration, to support the bid and travel to two key meetings – this week’s technical presentation and the final presentation and vote September 13 in Lima, Peru.
The President is expected to arrive midday Monday when the Paris 2024 delegation formally meets with IOC President Thomas Bach, and he will attend a reception in the evening to be held for Paris and rival bid Los Angeles with Olympic stakeholders.
Paris’ presentation to IOC members will be held behind closed doors at the SwissTech Convention Center Tuesday morning at 10:30 am directly following LA’s at 9:00 am.
While Macron is not required to attend, and it is not typical for state leaders to attend technical briefings, his gesture will likely be well-received by IOC members.
U.S. President Donald Trump, having just attended the G20 Summit with Macron in Hamburg last week, will not be in Lausanne though he met with Bach last month to express his support for LA 2024. The Los Angeles delegation will be led by Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will also be in attendance.
Paris 2024 Co-Chair Tony Estanguet said “Paris 2024 arrives in Lausanne as a strong and united team.”
“This is a bid driven by France’s sports movement and our athletes in full partnership with the National Olympic Committee, the city, the region and national government.”
“We are delighted France’s head of state, President Macron, will be taking a leading role and emphasising his commitment to the project. We want to make clear that Paris 2024 is a priority for the city and the nation.”
United States Olympic Committee (USOC) Chairman and IOC Member Larry Probst said “LA 2024 is the United States’ third bid in the last 10 years, and it is without a doubt the strongest.”
“I believe that my colleagues on the IOC will leave our presentation on Tuesday absolutely confident in the strength of our plan, the rigor of our budget and the unparalleled quality of our offer to the athletes of the world.”
The IOC will vote Tuesday on a proposal that if approved, would see both LA and Paris awarded the 2024 or 2028 Games during the Lima meeting in September. If Paris wins the 2024 Games, it will be on the 100th anniversary of the last time the French Capital hosted the Games, and it will be the third time the city will host.
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The full Paris 2024 delegation will include:
- President of France, Emmanuel Macron
- Bid Co-Chairman, IOC Member and three-time Olympic Gold Medallist, Tony Estanguet
- Bid Co-Chairman, Bernard Lapasset
- The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo
- IOC Member and Olympic Gold Medallist, Guy Drut
- President of the French National Olympic Committee, Denis Masseglia
- President of the French Paralympic Committee and Paralympic Bronze Medallist, Emmanuelle Assman
- President of the Île-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse
- French Minister for Sport and two-time Olympic Gold Medallist, Laura Flessel
- Bid CEO and Olympian, Etienne Thobois
- Olympic Silver Medallist, Sarah Ourahmoune
- Paralympic Gold Medallist, Michael Jeremiasz
- Olympic Silver Medallist, Emmeline Ndongue
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The LA 2024 delegation will include:
- LA Mayor Eric Garcetti
- Chairman Casey Wasserman
- CEO Gene Sykes
- Vice Chair Janet Evans
- Vice Chair Candace Cable
- IOC Member Anita De Frantz
- IOC Member Angela Ruggiero
- IOC Member Larry Probst
- USOC CEO Scott Blackmun
- Olympic track and field champion Allyson Felix
- Olympic track and field champion Michael Johnson.
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