Newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macron “met the IOC evaluation committee and Paris 2024 bid leaders at the presidential residence on Tuesday" expressing his support for the bid, according to L’ÉQUIPE. Macron told both parties that he would be present in Lausanne, Switzerland, on July 11 for the bid presentation in front of the IOC and will also travel to Lima, Peru, on Sept. 13 for the 2024 Olympic Games host vote (L’ÉQUIPE, 5/16). BLOOMBERG’s Tariq Panja reported Macron spent an hour with an 11-member team of inspectors. The group was “finishing a four-day trip to the French capital” following a tour of L.A., the sole other bidder. The inspectors will now "prepare a report of the trips that will be sent to the near-100 IOC members eligible to participate in the planned final vote" in Lima. Paris is "prepared to spend" about €6B ($6.6B), with a mix of private and public funds, while L.A. has committed to a privately-funded $6B project. The "impact of Macron’s involvement in the bid is yet to be seen." Several other leaders who "tried to woo sporting officials" have been "left embarrassed in the past" (BLOOMBERG, 5/16).
ACCUSED SHEIKH: Panja also reported L.A. bid Chair Casey Wasserman and Paris 2024 co-Chair Tony Estanguet "declined to publicly condemn" Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah. The Kuwaiti resigned from multiple football roles, "including a seat on FIFA's highest body," in response to being identified in a football bribery and corruption case in the U.S. He "vowed to prove his innocence." Al-Sabah, who is head of the Association of National Olympic Committees, "remains the chair of the IOC's solidarity committee," a group that is responsible for handing out $500M in development funds. Estanguet said, "Until he has been proven guilty, I will continue to work with him" (
BLOOMBERG, 5/16).
