IOC: 'No Risk' in Paris Olympic Bid

(ATR) The IOC says it sees no risk in the Paris 2024 bid offering, despite construction needed on a $2 billion Olympic Village.

Paris 2024 has repeatedly told the IOC it can only guarantee land to build the athletes’ village for the 2024 Games; at least 75 percent would be privately financed.

Rival LA 2024 offers a bid with no permanent construction necessary; the existing University of California Los Angeles is earmarked for its Olympic Village.

Patrick Baumann, chair of the IOC Evaluation Commission, brushed off suggestions that the Paris athletes village project was a significant risk.At a press conference concluding the IOC’s inspection of Paris, Baumann would not be drawn into identifying any concerns or challenges linked to the bid.

Praising Paris 2024’s candidature, he said that both the city’s proposals and the LA bid "do not present major risks that we have been able to highlight".

Speaking to around 80 international and domestic media, the Swiss IOC member said Paris had developed "excellent proposals" and a "very robust" Games concept, while the venues were "remarkable".

Two days after being sworn into office, French president Emmanuel Macron confirmed to the IOC commission that he will be part of the Paris 2024 bid delegation at the candidate cities briefing in Lausanne July 11-12.

Asked by Around the Rings if Macron’s presence in Lausanne might give Paris the edge if U.S. president Donald Trump was not there, Baumann said it was up to IOC members to make that judgment.

"The Paris bid is in good hands and they know what would be most positive for them," Baumann told the press conference, adding that it would be "a great honor for the Olympic family and IOC".

Suggesting it could only enhance Paris’s mission to land the 2024 Games, he said: "It will visibly and tangibly contribute to the entire government and country’s support for the bid."

Baumann made special mention of Mayor Anne Hidalgo, who led the bid’s venue tour Monday, for showing "what the Games can bring to Paris and France".

After cost over-runs for Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, Baumann was asked if Paris could deliver on its financial promises without ramping up costs. He admitted that the IOC would "ask for more savings in partnership with the organizing committee when it is appointed".

Baumann said there were many emotional moments for him during the commission visit. He singled out meeting the "next generation of athletics kids" at the Stade de France as his highlight.

The IOC commission will meet at the end of month to work on its final analysis of the bids from Los Angeles and Paris. The reports will be sent to all IOC members and go public on July 5. That’s one week before the candidate cities briefing in Lausanne for IOC members.

It will be a pivotal moment in the 2024 race as Paris and Los Angeles present their cases for the Games. The IOC gathering may include a vote on whether to adopt a change in the bid city election process to select one bid for 2024 and the other for 2028.

A taskforce comprising the four IOC vice presidents is studying whether to recommend a dual award at the IOC Session in Lima on Sept. 13. Baumann says the work of the vice presidents would not influence the business of his evaluation commission.

"We will see what after that are the next steps," he said.

He was asked if the report and commission’s work could be rendered pointless, if the IOC taskforce and IOC executive board strikes a deal to dish out the next two Games to LA and Paris.

"I think that’s not true. It has a lot of benefits," he said, noting it was the culmination of 18 months work.

Baumann insisted that drawing up conclusions about the bids was a vital exercise. "To put it down in black and white is extremely important for them [the bids] and stakeholders behind them who have given their support.

"It’s important to make sure we understand what are the visions and challenges. It’s one piece in the decision-making process. That’s extremely important and doesn’t make this report particularly pointless I would say, quite the contrary," said Baumann.

Reported and written in Paris by Mark Bisson

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