Paris 2024 Hopes To Restore Games' Credibility Amid Growing Scandal

Three days ahead of a vote expected to make Paris the host of the Olympics for the first time in 100 years, officials leading the city's '24 bid on Sunday "celebrated the opportunity to try to restore the Games' credibility amid a growing graft scandal," according to Mitra Taj of REUTERS. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and bid co-Chair Tony Estanguet said that transparency has been "core to their team's campaign from the start two years ago," before allegations of vote-buying in the '09 decision to award the 2016 Summer Games to Rio de Janeiro. Estanguet said, "We have the responsibility to be as transparent as possible because we know that there are criticisms with the population." The Paris team's enthusiasm for its "near-certain victory" was a "rare bright spot for the IOC as criminal probes in Brazil and France have cast a shadow over the organization" (REUTERS, 9/10).