The Italian Parliament voted "to back Rome's bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games," according to the AP.
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi "is a strong supporter of Rome's candidacy and the Parliament has now thrown its weight behind the bid." A statement on the bid website said,
"Today the Italian Parliament adopted, by a large majority, a clear and indisputable position on the candidature of Rome to the Olympic Games of 2024."
The show of support from Parliament "is unlikely to quash calls for a public referendum from the small, left-wing movement Radicali Italiani, which cites spiraling costs of recent Olympic Games."
Bid Chair Luca di Montezemolo and Italian Olympic Committee President Giovanni Malago "have pointed to the nearly unanimous vote in favor of the candidacy by Rome's city council last year, while an IPSOS poll promoted by the bid committee recently found that three out of four Italians are in favor of the candidacy, out of 2,200 people surveyed." The candidacy is promoting a cost-conscious plan relying on many of the same venues used in '60 -- like the Foro Italico complex "featuring the athletics stadium plus aquatics and tennis arenas."
Montezemolo announced a bid budget of €24.9M ($27M) -- significantly less than what main rivals Paris and L.A. "are planning to spend" (AP, 2/2).
