(ATR) The French NOC will decide whether to pursue a Paris bid for the 2024 Olympics in February.
An NOC spokeswoman tells Around the Rings that Bernard Lapasset, head of the Comite Francais du Sport International (CFSI), will present a feasibility study to Olympic stakeholders in the French capital on Feb. 12.
Denis Masseglia, the president of the NOC, said a decision would be taken that day about pushing on with a bid plan or dropping it altogether, according to French media reports.
Lapasset, chairman of the World Rugby federation, is driving a three-part feasibility study into a possible Paris 2024 bid conducted over the past year.
The feasibility on the technical and financial aspects and results of a study concerning the global context for a 2024 bid will be presented next month to government officials, representatives of the Ile-de-France region, mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo and the French NOC.
This report will take into account the IOC’s 40-point Agenda 2020 reforms passed last month in Monaco. The revamp of the Olympic movement includes plans to reduce the cost and complexity of Olympic bids.
If the go-ahead is given on Feb. 12, a final decision on a Paris 2024 bid is scheduled for the summer.
On Thursday, Boston joined Berlin/ Hamburg and Rome as the third confirmed bidder for the 2024 Games. The U.S. Olympic Committee selected Boston over Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C. Many Olympic observers believe a U.S. bid will start out favorite in the bidding contest.
Not Lapasset . He told ATR in November that France does not fear a U.S. bid if Paris does run. "Nobody knows who will be winning in 2024. Nobody is done, nobody is closed," he said at the time.
"We have the opportunity, every bid has the chance to win. That is really the feeling we have now. We are working in position to win for France. The others are working for themselves," the IRB chief said.
Asked if a U.S. bid was a factor in determining whether Paris should run, he said: "No, no no."
However, concerns remain that the French government considers the 2025 World Expo as a more important project than the Olympics. Prime Minister Manuel Valls threw his weight behind plans for the Expo in October, although French Olympic officials say a possible bid for the world exposition could be run in parallel with a pitch for the 2024 Olympics.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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