Following the release of a feasibility study on a bid from Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said “decisive steps” have been made toward a Paris candidacy.
Last November the mayor said she was concerned about the costs of a bid, the environmental impact and the specter of white elephants if France hosted the Games.
The project was brought forward by Bernard Lapasset, head of the French Committee for International Sport, who would lead the bid with International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Tony Estanguet if Paris decides to go forward.
Hidalgo said she was pleased with the financial and environmental guarantees in the study, but still needs to consult with members of Paris city council and nearby cities that could be involved before making a decision on whether to bid.
She said, “the fact that the IOC recently adopted 40 proposals in favour of sustainability and that the Olympic movement will fund the bid up to 1.8 billion Euros ($2 billion) has boosted everything. But we still need to define precisely our economic model”.
LaPasset said the decision hinged on whether there was an interest for Paris, whether it had the financing capacity and whether a win was possible.
The estimated operational cost of 3.2 billion Euros would be funded 97 per cent by private funds, with 1.85 billion coming directly from the IOC. The estimated 3.0 billion euro infrastructure cost to build new sporting halls, an Olympic Village and urban renovations around sporting sites, would be funded 50/50 with public and private funds, he said.
The report estimated the cost of a candidacy at 60 million Euros.
Hidalgo will put the decision to a vote by the Paris city council in April before announcing her decision.
The deadline for submission of preliminary bids to the IOC is September 15 and the host city will be selected in 2017.
Rome and Boston are the only declared candidates so far for 2024. Germany is to decide between Hamburg and Berlin as its candidate and Budapest is investigating feasibility.
