(ATR)The alpine city of Annecy is the candidate from France for the 2018Winter Olympics.
Located about 50km south of Geneva,Switzerland, Annecy was selected by the French NOC over bids fromGrenoble, Nice and Pelvoux-les-Ecrins in the first round of voting.
Annecywon 23 of the 42 votes cast; Nice collected 10 votes and Grenoble 9.There were no votes for Pelvoux-les-Ecrins.
NOCPresident Henri Sérandour announced the decision at a newsconference in Paris Wednesday. “I congratulate Annecy who get thehonor to represent France in front of the IOC in July 2011,” hesaid.
FrenchPresident Nicolas Sarkozy sent his congratulations to Annecy in astatement from the Elysee Palace.
Annecyenters the race for 2018 against some formidable competition. Munich,Germany and PyeongChang, South Korea have already announced plans tobid for the Games. Other bids are expected in the coming months.
Serandourconceded that Annecy was facing a tough battle to win the right tohost the 2018 Olympics. “In the IOC you always have surprises, so Ihope that the good surprise in July 2011 will be the victory ofAnnecy,” he said.
Thevoting was influenced by a report on the four cities by the NOC'sevaluation commission, which was released earlier this month.
Thereport said Grenoble, host of the 1968 Winter Games, and Annecy had“high quality” bids with the potential to organize the 2018Games. But the commission ruled that Nice and Pelvoux-les-Ecrinsrepresented too many risks.
Grenobleappears to have lost out not on technical merit but because of thehuge support for Annecy.
Aspokesman for the French NOC told ATR that Annecy had the backing ofmany French sports stars, while it was well located.
“Ithas Mont Blanc and one of the purest lakes. This area has some of thebest ski resorts in the world and a very big concentration ofresorts. They have almost everything,” he said.
Nicelost out because of the big distance and poor transport accessbetween the city and its proposed mountain venues. Pelvoux-les-Ecrinswas considered to be too small and too far from a major airport.
Theevaluation report was based on presentations made by the four citiesto the NOC in February.
Lastmonth, Annecy Mayor Jean-Luc Rigault told Around the Rings his citywas the right choice to make as a candidate for the 2018 WinterOlympics. "We have the knowledge, the experience hosting wintersports events," he said.
Annecy's bid attracted hugepublic support. According to Rigault, a survey of residents 25 yearsof age and under returned a 100 percent approval for the idea ofholding the Winter Olympics.
Locatedin the Haute Sovoie, which encompasses landmark Mont Blanc, Annecyhas the support of the ski resort of Morzine. This month, the resorttook part in an Annecy 2018 roadshow meant to inform people in theregion about the bid.
Annecy'sbid includes skiing in three major ski areas nearby, including theslopes of Mont Blanc. The city's skating facilities are also of ahigh standard; national ice skating championships have been hostedthere. The lakeside city's transport links are also good: Genevaairport is only 30 minutes away and high speed trains connect toParis.
TheIOC will formally launch the bid process for the 2018 Winter Gamesafter the selection of the 2016 Olympic host at the IOC Session inCopenhagen in October. The IOC vote on the 2018 host city takes place atthe IOC Session in Durban in 2011.
Today's announcement bySerandour was one of the last he'll make in his capacity as NOCpresident. The 71-year-old steps down at elections in May after 16years in the post. Three official candidates are in the running toreplace him: IOC member Guy Drut, NOC board member Denis Massegliaand Jean-Luc Rouge, president of French Judo Federation.
Writtenby MarkBisson
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