LA 2024 will assign U.S. sports marketing experts to help international sport federations market their sports in the U.S. if L.A. wins the right to host the '24 Games, bid leaders said today. Disney Chair & CEO Bob Iger will lead a “sports ambassador program.” LA 2024 Chief Strategy Officer Angela Ruggiero in Denmark today during a speech to the Association of Summer Olympic Int'l Federations (ASOIF) said, "This program will identify business leaders in California to work with you to maximize commercial opportunities in the United States." Further details will not be released unless a bid is successful, but Iger’s program would be looking for marketers willing to act as dedicated advisors to Olympic sports federations, in particular sports that lack a major U.S. following, such as badminton or table tennis. They would be volunteer positions, though LA 2024 does have a limited budget for the program. Ambassadors would be called upon to provide a range of services, including connections to possible U.S.-based corporate sponsors and advice on experiential marketing programs, media strategies and presenting the competitions themselves. In an effort to distinguish itself from rival Paris, LA 2024 is telling Olympic federations that a U.S.-based Games would offer unique commercial opportunities in light of the country’s size and wealth. In his segment of the presentation today, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti called the U.S. a $250B sports market and noted it has 100 million citizens under the age of 25. The program for the '24 Games will not be determined until '20, but currently, 28 different international federations operate events, and another five have been added to the program for the '20 Tokyo Games. LA 2024 also said it would host annual forums with the international federations to help them prepare for the Games.
WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS: Both L.A. and Paris made brief presentations to the ASOIF today, their first official bid presentations since the IOC started seriously considering a plan to award both the '24 and '28 Games simultaneously. Both bids sought to lend a sense of urgency to their arguments, shifting from a pure comparison to why their plan should be selected for '24 and the other should go later, if the dual award concept proceeds. Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo: “So why Paris now? Some mention the anniversary of Paris 1924, while some say it’s because this is the fourth bid from one of Europe’s greatest cities. Others tell us we have a great plan in place and are ready to deliver. These are all part of the story, but they are not the most important part. We believe we have the right city with the right vision at exactly the right moment for sport, a vision to connect Olympism with the generation that lives their lives through sharing and whose mindset is about changing the world.”
DOUBLE TROUBLE? According to a report from Olympic trade InsidetheGames, Paris has appeared to back away slightly from earlier comments indicating it would only accept a '24 Games. LA 2024 Chair Casey Wasserman said the '24-'28 combo deal “makes a lot of sense.” He said, “It’s fortunate the IOC has two great cities to consider, each capable of hosting magnificent Games in 2024.” But Garcetti said, "It’s important we draw a distinction in our vision here today, because although many believe the two bids in this race are quite similar, they are, in fact, very different. ... LA 2024 offers the Olympic Movement something creative and new -- not more of the same." Each side included subtle digs at the other in their presentations. Garcetti said “We’re not focused on the last 100 years, we are focused on the next 100.” Paris 2024 co-Chair Tony Estanguet, in an apparent dig toward LA 2024’s heavy emphasis on Hollywood and Silicon Valley, said, "The answers to the questions we face do not lie in just story-telling or technology."
