Emphasizing its "incomparable beauty" amid a widening corruption scandal, Rome "formally submitted its bid for the 2024 Olympics on Friday to mark a turnaround after a 2020 candidacy was scrapped three years ago because of financial concerns," according to the AP.
Mayor Ignazio Marino, bid leader Luca Cordero di Montezemolo and Italian Olympic Committee President Giovanni Malago "signed the candidate application at City Hall" -- which overlooks the Roman Forum -- and sent it to the IOC. The Rome committee said, "No other city in the world can offer an artistic, historical and cultural heritage that stretches over such an ample arc of time, which will allow Olympic competitions to be held in the most spectacular and symbolic places of the Eternal City." Hamburg, Germany, sent in its letter on Wednesday, while Paris, L.A., and Budapest, Hungary, "are other declared bidders." Italian Paralympic Committee President Luca Pancalli:
"I don't like talking about competitors but Rome is Rome" (AP, 9/11).
JOINING THE RACE: DW reported in a Saturday letter to the IOC, French Olympic officials and civic leaders said that "they hope to bring the games to Paris in 2024." The letter, addressed to IOC President Thomas Bach and signed jointly by French National Olympic Committee President Denis Masseglia and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, said, "The Olympic spirit and the city of Paris share a common attachment to unity in diversity, tolerance in the face of differences and the same belief in peace of openness" (DW, 9/13). The AFP reported German Olympic Committee (DOSB) President Alfons Hörmann believes his country's "generosity to refugees from war-torn Syria could help Hamburg's bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games." Hörmann: "I'm firmly convinced that the image of a tolerant Germany will be viewed positively. The welcoming culture towards the refugees links perfectly with the culture of welcoming a global sports festival such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games" (AFP, 9/13).
