Tony Estanguet, president of Paris 2024, wants to redefine the legacy of the Olympic Games
Never, never, never. It’s hugely complex. It’s 208 countries, 15,000 athletes, 20,000 journalists, 13 million spectators. It will be the biggest event that France has ever organized.
I became an athlete in canoeing, doing canoeing twice a day, every day, and after 20 years of training, I decided to stop. It’s always a challenge to find a new career, and when I’ve been proposed to be involved in this, it was a fantastic challenge. It’s not yet decided, right? It’s not my role to make these decisions, it’s the IOC’s decision. But of course, in recent months I supported the position of the international sports movement, to try to apply pressure.
I assume you’ve had some pretty anxious times since you got the job in 2017. The pandemic completely disrupted the Tokyo Olympics. And now we have a war in Europe. What kind of contingency plans have you made, if the war spreads, or there’s another global pandemic? You have about one-tenth of the budget that the Tokyo Olympics had. When you go out and speak to big business now—when things aren’t going well economically—do you have to make a hard sell to get them on board?. We’ll build 10 times less than the past edition of the Games.
Parisians complain a lot. But so far they support the Olympics. Yet you do hear complaints, most strongly about the whole redesign of the city. Blocking the Trocadero and the Champs-Elysées [key areas around the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower] to traffic. People link that to the Olympics, even though the plan came in before Paris won the 2024 Games.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
DeSantis beats Trump in conservative group straw poll for 2024 nominationDenver poll could mean Trump is losing grip on Republican party as DeSantis wins 71% of the vote to Trump’s 67%
Read more »
Paris protesters celebrate saving trees around the Eiffel TowerCity abandons €72m scheme to develop the area and create a massive garden in time for 2024 Olympics
Read more »
Stephen Fry’s prime minister comment draws gasps from Jubilee concert crowdIncluding Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and Boris Johnson
Read more »
Paris protesters celebrate saving trees around the Eiffel TowerCity abandons €72m scheme to develop the area and create a massive garden in time for 2024 Olympics
Read more »
Prince Charles hopes people stop 'bickering' after Platinum JubileeThe Prince of Wales has apparently told people he doesn’t want the nation to go back to ‘bickering’ when the Jubilee is over.
Read more »