Fully behind Paris’ bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games [fr]
France’s sports movement is fronting the "Paris 2024" bid to stage the Olympic and Paralympic Games with the backing of the public authorities.
France is an experienced host when it comes to putting on major sports events: the UEFA Euro 2016 is ample proof of this, reaping as it did so one billion euros’ worth of benefits for the French economy, creating 10,000 jobs during its organization and drawing an extra 600,000 tourists to our country. The closing of the 2017 World Men’s Handball Championship, which everyone agreed had been superbly organized, is yet another glowing example of France’s expertise.
"As Prime Minister, I can assure you that we are mobilizing this experience, this commitment and all the resources at our disposal to host the world’s greatest sporting event and, of course, to ensure its complete success; not underestimating the challenges that such an event’s organization entails but well aware that our knowhow, acknowledged the world over, will enable us to meet this magnificent challenge with every confidence."
—Bernard Cazeneuve, Prime Minister - Februrary 3, 2017
The Paris bid to organize the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games is therefore a logical follow-on of these events. It is a financially sustainable project, relying on outstanding infrastructure which, for the most part, already exists (such as the Stade de France, Grand Palais and Château de Versailles) and seeking to bequeath a lasting legacy in the local areas concerned. There is also wholehearted ambition, through this bid, to embody the values of Olympism, which seeks to harness the benefits of sport for the common good.
The Host City for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be elected during the 13 September 2017 session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lima (Peru).
The third and final candidature file submission on 3 February to the IOC delves into the subjects concerning the organizational impact of the Games:
telecommunications plan,
energy requirements of the sites,
tourist options available in the areas surrounding the competitions;
safety and security,
travel routes and range of public transport services.
Sustainable development will also be a chief priority for the stakeholders, not least regarding the way resources are managed and the processes for supplying the sites are optimized.
The State has lent unstinting and constructive assistance in preparing the successive candidature files along with the local authorities concerned. This strong commitment on the part of the public authorities ensures the project’s credibility and consideration of residents’ long-term needs.
The State has also made a contribution to presenting the IOC with a particularly secure arrangement, enabling the competition to take place under the very best conditions while safeguarding its celebratory and universal nature.
"France wishes to remain faithful to the spirit of the message that Pierre de Coubertin addressed to the world in this same city over a century ago—the world has certainly changed a great deal since then and our era is by no means free of upsets, but sport and Olympism embody values that are still very much of the present; they are more than ever necessary in order to bring people together around an ideal, and that is the message that Paris and France wish once again to uphold to the full by organizing the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games."
—Bernard Cazeneuve, Prime Minister - Februrary 3, 2017
During the official launch of the international communication campaign, the Prime Minister attended a special international press event held at the Musée de l’Homme, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
Strong commitment on the part of the State
The legacy left by the Games, once they have ended and beyond the sites that will host the events, is an incredible opportunity to strengthen the impact of the public policies implemented by the State and the local authorities—all the fruit of the extensive national dialogue conducted on the subject of the bid.
The State wishes to show strong commitment in this respect:
- From 2017, specific funds (€20m) have already been dedicated to rolling out a sports development plan firmly geared towards local areas and supporting associations via the National Center for Sports Development (CNDS).
- At the end of February, the State is due to announce measures in connection with the cross-government "Sport and society" programme, in which the actions presented will bear, through the Games, on education, employment, integration in the job market, development of company sport, disability, urban policy and citizenship, the environment and culture.
In light of their unmatched appeal and outreach, the Olympic and Paralympic Games can sustainably speed up local area change for the better, generating economic activity and fostering community-wide sports practice. This is why the "Paris 2024" bid fronted by the sports movement has the backing of the public authorities.