No Olympics Deal Made in U.S.-French Summit

(ATR) The heads of state of the two 2024 Olympic bid countries met today, although no talks of a hosting compromise emerged.

United States President Donald Trump met with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron today in Brussels, Belgium. The pair discussed a number of topics according to international media reports, and will both participate in the upcoming NATO Summit.

Absent from the list of topics was the 2024 Olympic Games.

Currently, the IOC is exploring the possibility of a joint award of both the 2024 and 2028 Olympics. A source close to the matter told Around the Rings that the IOC plans to have members vote for which city would win 2024 and which would win 2028.

Macron told reporters the pair would be discussing "terrorism, the economy, climate and energy." The visit by Trump to Brussels is the fourth leg of his first international trip since taking office in January.

Trump said that Macron’s victory in France was "an incredible campaign and had a tremendous victory." Trump had previously endorsed far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the French election.

The pair could meet again under very different circumstances this September at the 2017 IOC Session, depending on decisions taken this summer in Lausanne.

IOC Vice President Seeks "Principle Agreement"

IOC vice president Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. admits an agreement must be put in place ahead of any joint Olympic decision.

Samaranch Jr. spoke with Spanish news agency EFA about the growing prospect of a joint award at the 2017 IOC Session in Lima. Samaranch Jr. is one of four IOC vice presidents on a commission determining the fate of the upcoming Olympic decision.

The commission will present its decision to the IOC Executive Board on June 9. The quartet will meet again on June 8 to draft a report for the IOC.

"If they could agree on the principle of an agreement, we would seize the opportunity to have two consecutive Games in two cities of very high quality," Samaranch Jr. said. "We would only be the referees."

IOC Details 2024 Presentations

IOC members will have an opportunity to engage with LA 2024 and Paris 2024 for two hours on June 12.

The strict protocol comes at the end of crunch time for the two 2024 bids. Each bid will present to the IOC Executive Board on June 11, after two days of IOC meetings. During those meetings the Executive Board will review a proposal about jointly awarding the 2024 and 2028 bids. The June 11 presentations will allow the IOC to communicate the commissions’ findings to each bid.

Then from 11am to 1pm on June 12, members will be able to interact with each 2024 bid in the SwissTech convention center. Each bid will have an equally designed room set up to promote the bid. After IOC members’ window to interact, each room will be open to the media.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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