The Rome City Council has voted 30-12 "in favor of Mayor Virginia Raggi's motion to deny support for the Rome 2024 bid," according to AROUND THE RINGS. The council convened to address the candidature on Thursday in the Italian capital, following Raggi's announcement last week "that she would not support the bid." Considering that the mayor's Five Star Movement party holds a majority at city hall, "the vote to support Raggi and nix the bid was not a surprise." The City Council's approval of Raggi's motion "effectively forces the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) to withdraw the Rome 2024 bid application" from the IOC. A Rome 2024 spokesperson said that a decision will be announced on Friday, but "don't draw any final conclusions from the vote." CONI President Giovanni Malago "was not present in Rome on Thursday." Adding "fuel to the fire of what has been a contentious battle at times," representatives from Rome 2024 were initially invited to address the council but were later denied. Raggi officially withheld her support for Rome's bid, calling any plans to move forward with it "irresponsible." Earlier this week Malago said that if Rome bows out now "there will not likely be another bid for at least 20 years" (AROUND THE RINGS, 9/29).
