Paris 2024 Sets Aquatics Venue

(ATR) A permanent aquatics venue will be built in Saint-Denis for the 2024 Olympics, and the city of Paris will increase its budget for the venue.

The aquatics venue was cleared up as part of a co-financing protocol signed on Thursday by Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, Tony Estanguet, Paris 2024 president, and Edouard Philippe, French Prime Minister. The signing was done ahead of the second IOC Coordination Commission visit to Paris.

Paris agreed to contribute an additional $46.55 million to the venue "compared to what was envisaged in the project in the application phase" according to a statement. The city of Paris said the aquatics center was chosen for the Saint-Denis cluster because 50 percent of primary school kids do not know how to swim in the region.

"The commitments made this morning by all project stakeholders will allow us, as expected, to reconcile strict cost control and a very strong legacy for the territories, with investments that are useful for the inhabitants," Hidalgo said in a statement.

In addition to the aquatics center, the co-financing agreement set out a plan for the construction of the Olympic Village. Power lines in the village will be buried under ground, a noise barrier will be built around the village, and new green spaces were added to the architectural plan.

Both Hidalgo and Estanguet mentioned the IOC’s Agenda 2020 as an inspiration for crafting the budget and delegation of responsibilities.

"The signature of this protocol is a proof of our well-founded method and the fruit of a collective work at the service of a common ambition, shared by all the project's stakeholders," Estanguet said in a statement. "[The project] is much stronger than September 14, the day after our victory. [We] will continue to work every day to offer ever more useful Games to our country. "

Written by Aaron Bauer

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