Hopes Remain for French Olympic Bid

(ATR)In the wake of comments from the prime minister of France that the government wants to support efforts to secure a World Expo in 2025, hopes remain that an Olympic bid for 2024 can still be pursued.

Speaking Monday in a Paris suburb, Prime Minister Manuel Valls publicly declared his support for the World Expo, noting how it would help with the worldwide branding of France. His failure to mention the possibility of France seeking the 2024 Olympics was seen as a blow to those hopes.

A top official with the French Olympic committee, the CNOSF, points out to Around the Rings that Valls has not rejected an Olympic bid, and officials with the office of President François Hollande say that an Olympic bid is not ruled out. They say it is feasible for France to mount two big projects at the same time.

Still proceeding is a review of a possible Olympic bid headed by International Rugby Board president Bernard Lapasset that is expected to take a few more months to complete.

In an interview published today in L’Equipe, Lapasset stands by the hopes of a French bid and urges patience as his feasibility study comes to a close.

European Olympic Committees president Patrick Hickey notes that is premature to rule out France based on the comments of the prime minister. And he says not to regard this as a withdrawal from the race when no candidacy has been declared.

"It is far too early to be speculating over which cities may or may not be bidding for 2024. My understanding is that a number of European nations have expressed an interest in bidding for 2024 but this is all unofficial at this stage. So it is not appropriate to talk about any city ‘withdrawing’," says Hickey in a statement to ATR.

Another perspective from French journalist Alain Mercier of Francs Jeux, who writes that the comments of the Prime Minister may be much ado about nothing.

Juanito: 2032 Earliest for African Olympics

A leading IOC member says Africa is potentially decades away from hosting an Olympics.

Executive Board member Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr. spoke at a conference for African business on Tuesday and said the IOC would like to bring the Games to Africa, but the continent needs to host smaller events, such as world championships or the Youth Olympic Games first.

"It is a long process, but it leads eventually to a credible bid that we would very much welcome," he said.

The earliest possibility for a credible bid, he predicted, would be 2032.

So far, the biggest sporting event hosted in Africa is the 2010 World Cup, which took place in South Africa. The country is also rumored to be considering a bid for the 2024 Olympics.

Written byEd HulaandEd Hula III

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