IOC Vice President Mario Pescante has resigned his post, claiming he is embarrassed by the withdrawal of the Rome 2020 bid. From the article:
Pescante was pessimistic about the Games returning to Rome anytime in the near future for the first time since 1960, believing that Paris will be the clear favourites to host the 2024 Olympics, marking the centenary of the last occasion they were held in the French capital.
A bid from Paris is likely, and the city is experienced. The French capital hosted the games in 1900 and 1924 and has bid several other times. The most recent bid was for the Olympics coming this summer; Paris only lost to host city London by 4 votes (in contrast, the American candidate, New York, got knocked out in the 2nd round of voting--it only beat Moscow). Given the Eurocentric nature of the IOC, any bid by the French would bear some serious weight. And given that this would be the Centennial year, the Parisian cohort is likely to bring some strong emotions and arguments to the bidding table.
There isn't much chatter yet about Paris 2024, but Pescante's prediction is significant because of his (former) position in the IOC. If the IOC and the USOC can resolve their fund sharing dispute in the next few years, whatever US city chooses to bid must have a stunning plan in place.
Pescante was pessimistic about the Games returning to Rome anytime in the near future for the first time since 1960, believing that Paris will be the clear favourites to host the 2024 Olympics, marking the centenary of the last occasion they were held in the French capital.
A bid from Paris is likely, and the city is experienced. The French capital hosted the games in 1900 and 1924 and has bid several other times. The most recent bid was for the Olympics coming this summer; Paris only lost to host city London by 4 votes (in contrast, the American candidate, New York, got knocked out in the 2nd round of voting--it only beat Moscow). Given the Eurocentric nature of the IOC, any bid by the French would bear some serious weight. And given that this would be the Centennial year, the Parisian cohort is likely to bring some strong emotions and arguments to the bidding table.
There isn't much chatter yet about Paris 2024, but Pescante's prediction is significant because of his (former) position in the IOC. If the IOC and the USOC can resolve their fund sharing dispute in the next few years, whatever US city chooses to bid must have a stunning plan in place.
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