Paris Commits to $162 Million For 2024 Games -- Bid Roundup

(ATR)Paris is looking to commit $162 million to carry out the renovation of stadiums and other infrastructures if it will ensure the city wins the bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games.

Reports suggest that $33.5 million will be used to build a stadium in Bercy, $23.5 million on an aquatic centre, $28 million for training sites, $14 million for a swimming pool, $7.3 million on the Pierre de Coubertin Stadium and also guarantees $4.5 million for the future Olympic village.

The Paris City Council will meet next week to vote on formally giving Mayor Anne Hidalgo the power to sign guarantees required by the IOC to host the Games.

In the neighboring city of Saint-Denis, Mayor Didier Paillard voiced his opinions on Paris hosting the Games encouraging citizens to support the project.

"It is the project that we must build to allow Paris and its suburbs to reach for the stars of the Olympics," he said in an op-ed in a French publication.

"Paris 2024 should be proud of its diversity and the realities of our suburbs. We carry the message of a united candidacy - inclusive and environmental."

Paillard refers back to the differences of previous Games such as Rio and Athens and compares them to the major reconstruction Paris has in store.

"The sight of half-empty stadiums at the Rio Games and the infrastructure in ruins in Athens or Sochi shows how the gap between this type of event and the reality of local people can be great," he adds.

Budapest 2024 Receives Serbian Support

Budapest is reportedly receiving backing from neighboring Serbia in its bid to stage the 2024 Games.

Earlier this month Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with his Serbian counterpartAleksandar Vučić in Belgrade.

Hungarian media reports the Serbian prime minister saysthe Budapest Olympics would provide an excellent opportunity for all the countries bordering Hungary as well as the European Continent as a whole.

Rome Mayor's Decision on 2024 Could Come Soon

Italian media reports that Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi is expected to hold a press conference on Wednesday to defend her stance against the city's 2024 bid.

Rome 2024 calls the reports media speculation and says there is no press conference officially scheduled.

The Italian news agency ANSA is reporting that delegations from the City of Rome and the Rome 2024 Organizing Committee will be meeting today to discuss the Games dossier.

Raggi has said that she will sit down with bid leaders before making her final decision on whether to continue with the bid.

Santa Monica Signs On to LA 2024 Bid

The Santa Monica city council has given its approval to be the host city of a beach volleyball venue if Los Angeles is awarded the 2024 Games.

The Los Angeles bid calls for a temporary beach volleyball stadium stretching across the north side of the Santa Monica pier. The new infrastructure would hold 12,000 people and include warm-up courts, spectator seating and a 10-foot high security fence.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Not to just bring beach volleyball home to Santa Monica on a worldwide stage, but to really, of course, showcase what is so special and wonderful about Santa Monica," Councilwoman Gleam Davis said in a statement.

Paris, Budapest, Los Angeles and Rome are all in competition to host the world’s largest sporting spectacular in 2024.

The IOC will reveal the 2024 bid winner in Lima on September 13, 2017.

Written by Courtney Colquitt

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