(ATR) Paris 2024 chairman Tony Estanguet meets with 60 athletes to determine the roles that athletes throughout France will play in organizing and delivering the Olympic Games.
The meeting at the offices of the elite French sports academy (INSEP) was the first in a series of athlete collaborations planned by Paris 2024. The meetings will serve to format the Athletes’ Commission and its role in the Organizing Committee as well as help athletes discover ways they can drive fan engagement with the Olympics and Paralympics.
The Athletes’ Commission will be created following the establishment of the formal Paris 2024 OCOG which a spokesperson tells Around the Rings should be finalized by the end of January 2018.
"The actual dates are still to be finalized but the aim is to wind up the transitional OCOG in December or early January and the full OCOG to become operational before the end of January," ATR is told.
Estanguet, French Olympic Committee President Denis Masseglia and Paris 2024 Sports Director Jean-Philippe Gatien led the meeting and discussions about athlete involvement in organizing the Games and the framework for the ‘Paris 2024 Athletes’ Plan’.
"The presence of athletes at the heart of the Paris 2024 project is essential," Estanguet said in a statement. "Their experience of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, their knowledge of their individual sports and their insight into the federations allowed us to propose a project that will meet the expectations of the Olympic family."
Included in the Athletes’ Plan is the Athlete Ambassadors program that will drive engagement with the Olympic values in France and internationally, according to Paris 2024.
As Paris 2024 moves toward forming its OCOG, the scrutiny of the Olympic organizers has already increased in the French and international media. Reports questioning the salaries of top OCOG executives and spending at the IOC Session in Lima have surfaced in recent weeks. Paris 2024 tells ATR this is to be expected.
"Scrutiny is normal and is part of transparency," a spokesperson says. "Paris 2024 will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to answer any questions and move forward in a very positive spirit."
After a few weeks of silence following the selection of Paris 2024 as the host city in Lima in September, it seems Paris 2024 is now on its first steps in the seven-year path to the Olympic opening ceremony in the French capital.
Written by Kevin Nutley
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