Olympic and Paralympic Committees Seek Insights on Paris 2024 Project

(ATR) Officials from 26 NOCs and 13 Paralympic committees are gathered in Paris for the first series of 2024 Olympic workshops.

Games organizers are hosting the NOCs and NPCs from the five continents as part of a two-day welcome event that opened Thursday. The aim is to present the Paris 2024 project and engage them in its development, enabling them to plan ahead for the Games.

It’s the first time such an event has been organised five years ahead of any Olympics. Meetings between the host country and the NOCs/NPCs usually start in the four years running up to the Games, after the most recent Olympics.

"With the permission of the IOC and the International Paralympic Committee, we wanted to bring these discussions forward to respond to the requests from a number of NOCs and NPCs who wanted to meet with Paris 2024, to share the details of our project with them, show them around our facilities, and step up our ambition to innovate and develop these Games together," said Paris 2024 president Tony Estanguet.

Under Paris 2024’s ambitions to collaborate more closely with the world’s NOCs and NPCs, Games organizers said they hoped to "make use of these representatives’ experience, expectations and cultures to enhance certain key aspects of its project, such as the Olympic Village and the celebratory aspect".

Themesincluding sport and the climate, international cooperation and commitment, Athletes’ Village, and celebrations are among topics of the workshops. They are attended by NOC heavyweights from the United States, China, Russia, Great Britain, Brazil and Japan. Smaller countries such as the State of Eritrea, Guatemala and Andorra are also represented.

Paris 2024 initiated international consultations in April, when its athletes’ commission sought the opinions of champions from all over the world at the International Athletes’ Forum organised by the IOC in Lausanne.

At the event, 53 athletes – representing 24 countries, 23 disciplines and 13 editions of the Games – were consulted about a specific Olympic Village-related project.

On Thursday and Friday, delegates will also be touring some of the sites of the Games, both in the heart of the French capital and in the wider area. The Olympic Village site in the Saint-Denis area is expected to generate plenty of debate.

"They all have a lot of experience of Olympic villages and have something to offer us and it is important to create a relationship of trust now," Paris 2024 director of international relations Sophie Lorant told AFP.

"These visits will allow the various delegations to start thinking ahead to the Games, by estimating their transfer times, for example, or planning where they might stay," Paris 2024 said in a statement.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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