(ATR) Paris 2024 says it will not consider the 2028 Olympics, even if asked by the IOC.
"We can't accept '28. It's not possible," Paris 2024 co-chair Tony Estanguet told reporters Tuesday in a London briefing.
The IOC has launched an inquiry into the question of whether it might be possible to award the 2024 and 2028 Olympics at the same time to Paris and Los Angeles, the only two bidders.
"We're OK if the IOC wants to give two Games at the same session in Lima," Estanguet said. "But on our side, our project is only possible for '24. We also believe this is the time to come back to Paris, or to Europe, in '24. This is the fourth bid, we learned a lot. It's now or never," said Estanguet.
It’s the most definitive statement from Paris that the bid will not consider 2028, if that’s what’s offered by the IOC. For months Paris insiders have indicated in off the record comments that if the city loses a fourth bid for the Games in the past 15 years, Paris won’t be back to bid for many years.
In comments last month to Around the Rings, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti also said the 2024 Olympics remains the focus for his city. Garcetti says the IOC might be wise to consider awarding two Games at the same time, but that the change should be part of a future campaign, not the current race.
"It might be a responsible thing for the Olympics to do. We’re solely focused on 2024, and I’d hate to see the United States not bid again in the future, because you know three times burned – assuming that the cards are stacked against us," said Garcetti, echoing the fear of Paris over yet another rejection by the IOC. The U.S. bid for the 2012 Olympics in New York City and 2016 in Chicago.
Paris offers a chance for the IOC to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first and only previous Summer Olympics in the French capital.
Estanguet says the land reserved for the Olympic Village in the plan for the 2024 Olympics will not be available for the same purpose by the time of the 2028 Games. The $1.5 billion project is the biggest construction project in the bid plan.
For Los Angeles, no construction projects are required in the 2024 bid. Existing venues would be utilized and the Olympic Village would employ the dormitories of University of California at Los Angeles.
The four vice presidents of the IOC, John Coates of Australia, Ugur Erdener from Turkey, Juan Antonio Samaranch of Spain and China’s Zaiqing Yu will study the possibility of awarding Olympics to both cities at the IOC Session in Lima, Peru in September. Coates, who is chair of the IOC Legal Affair Commission, has told ATR there would be legislative issues for the IOC to address with such a change.
In announcing the formation of the working group last week, IOC President Thomas Bach said he believed the Olympic Charter provides the flexibility needed to make the change.
The commission is due to report in early July when the IOC Executive Board meets next in Lausanne. That meeting comes on the eve of the technical briefing the two bid cities will deliver to IOC members, who may also be asked to vote on the change if it is approved by the EB.
Homepage photo: Getty Images
Written by Ed Hula.
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