Paris 2024 Chooses Marseille as Sailing Venue

(ATR)Marseille beats five candidates to be named the host venue for sailing if Paris secures the 2024 Olympics.

The city was chosen Monday over the other cities - Brest, Hyeres, Le Havre, La Rochelle and Quiberon. It followed analysis conducted by an evaluation committee comprising representatives from the French Sailing Federation, a delegation of sailors, members of the French NOC and experts.

The announcement comes eight days before the 2024 Olympic bidders are due to submit their initial bids to the IOC. Budapest, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Paris and Rome are the other cities in the race. Baku and Toronto are still mulling bids.

Paris 2024 listed seven reasons why it picked Marseille. Among them was that the compact venue concept would minimise infrastructure and operational costs – "in line with the Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms".

The city would also provide an "beautiful setting" with ideal conditions for competitive sailing and "create stunning sporting images for live and broadcast audiences".

The bid also cited the city’s experience of hosting major international events and the accessibility of the area for French and overseas sailing fans.

Marseille’s proposal had a strong focus on legacy including a commitment to renovate and extend the Roucas Blanc marina, training the next generation of sailing athletes and hosting future major nautical events as well as establishing an international sailing center.

"The city was chosen after a rigorous review process and Marseille presented a first-class project that showed they have the high-level technical experience and expertise to deliver a fantastic Olympic sailing event," said bid president Bernard Lapasset.

"Paris 2024 believes that Olympic sailing in Marseille would be a truly wonderful occasion for athletes, sailing and general sports fans, the Olympic Family and for the millions of television and online viewers across world who can tune in to see world-class sailing action in front of a beautiful Mediterranean backdrop," he added.

Tony Estanguet, IOC member and a key figure in Paris 2024’s bid leadership team, said the choice of Marseille strengthens aims to "create a winning campaign".

"Marseille would be a fantastic setting for the Olympic sailing action and the venue meets all of the necessary criteria to ensure that the stage is set for the athletes to deliver first-class performances during what would be a showcase moment should Paris be selected to host the Games in 2024."

Reported by Mark Bisson

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