(ATR) Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malagò says, for religious reasons, the Rome 2024 bid will not utilize the Vatican as an Olympic venue.
"It would not be right to involve the Vatican in our bid. Islamic, Hebrew, Catholic, they will be co-protagonists," Malagò said while at the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur.
St. Peter’s Square was reported to potentially stage the archery event at the onset of the bid.Portuguese Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins thought it would be possible to host events such as this in Vatican City.
"It seems like a good idea, and I think the pope would approve. The church has always seen sport as a way of promoting healthy values. There's ample space at Castel Gandolfo, which at the moment is rarely used," Martins said.
Although Malagò confirms the Vatican will not be used during the Games, he hopes the Colosseum will.
The idea was proposed by the mayor of Rome Ignazio Marino. Marino would like to see the Colosseum used for the medal ceremonies during the Games.
Malago says he would like a compact Games with Rome hosting the majority of events. However, he says the football tournament will likely be held across six cities in Italy and the sailing venue will be a city on the Adriatic Sea. The International Sailing Federation will decide which city they would prefer for the venue.
The first bid proposal for Rome 2024 is due to the IOC by September 15. This is the deadline for all interested cities to submit their applications to host the 2024 Games.
Paris, Hamburg and Budapest have all declared intentions of submitting a bid. The United States will also likely submit a bid by the deadline, but it is unclear at this time which city will replace Boston after the city dropped out of the race a week ago. Los Angeles is widely considered the favorite to win USOC approval.
Baku and Toronto have also hinted at their intentions to submit bids after successful continental games in each city. Baku hosted the inaugural European Games in June while Toronto hosted the Pan Am Games in July.
The IOC will choose one of the seven potential bidders as the host of the 2024 Games at the IOC Session in Lima, Peru in 2017.
Written by Kevin Nutley
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