Paris bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics

Bids for the
2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics
Overview
Games of the XXX Olympiad
XIV Paralympic Games
London
Paris · Madrid · Moscow
Details
City Paris
NOC French National Olympics Committee
Evaluation
IOC score 8.5
Previous Games hosted
1900 Summer Olympics
1924 Summer Olympics
Decision
Result First runner-up (50 votes)

Paris 2012 was an unsuccessful bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games to be held in Paris. The bidding race was eventually won by the London 2012 bid after a 54-50 vote of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 6 July 2005.[1] The French capital's failure to win the 2012 games follows the attempts of the Paris 2008 and Paris 1992 bids.

Organisation

The Paris 2012 Committee

The French National Olympic Committee (French: Le Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français (CNOSF)), the city of Paris, the Île-de-France region and France itself formed a public interest group called “Paris-Île-de-France 2012”. Chaired by Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris, the group was responsible for supporting and promoting Paris' bid.

International Olympic Committee evaluation report

The IOC gave the Paris 2012 bid almost universal praise, as shown in the following excerpt from their evaluation:

Paris has based its vision on the long-standing relationship between Olympism and France and has planned athlete-centered Games. Paris has committed to providing a legacy to the city, the region, French athletes and the community generally. The Olympic Village would provide a significant new housing opportunity for inner Paris. The Paralympic Games are well integrated into the planning of Paris 2012. Overall, the environmental actions are comprehensive, innovative and integrated throughout planning and operations, and would result in significant gains and legacies from the Games. The budget has been professionally prepared with great detail. Assumptions for the budget are well supported and documented. Paris has extensive, well maintained and operated metropolitan road and rail transport systems. Paris has a rich cultural heritage with regard to Olympism. The candidature file and the information provided to the Commission during its visit were of a very high quality.

Important dates

The logo of the Paris 2012 bid on the front of the Assemblée Nationale in Paris.

Candidates' file

Dates

The Paris organizing committee proposed to hold the games from 27 July to 12 August 2012. These dates offer the most favorable climatic conditions for the athletes.[2]

Finance

Paris proposed that the organizing committee for the games (OCOG) would need US$2.65 billion to run and prepare for the games. Non-OCOG budgeting would include US$2.2 billion specifically for the games and another US$6 billion for general infrastructure enhancements over a longer period of time.[2]

The national, regional, and local governments are all committed to funding the games, and the national government says that it will cover any shortfall the Paris OCOG experiences.[2]

The Olympic village

The goal was to place the 17,000 athletes and guides under the best conditions in the middle of the Games. The “one village, two cores” concept of the Paris 2012 bid would have placed the Olympic and Paralympic village in Paris only 6 kilometres from the two cores of competition venues that would have been used for 80% of the events. The "Olympic Ways", in the immediate vicinity, would have made it possible to guarantee the effectiveness and efficiency of transportation; according to the bid team, it would have taken less than ten minutes to reach either of the venue clusters. The village would have been placed in the north-west of Paris, in the 17th arrondissement on an industrial wasteland belonging to the SNCF.

Venues

The venue concept for the Paris bid was focused around two principal clusters, a Northern core around the Stade de France and a Western core established around the Stade Roland Garros .[3] Sixteen additional venues (including 11 temporary ones) were to be constructed for the Games.

Northern Core

Western Core

Other sites in Paris

Elsewhere in France

Previous bids

It is the third time in recent years that Paris has sought hosting rights for the Olympic Games.

Competition with London

The IOC's decision to hold the 2012 Games in London was a massive blow to France due to this being Paris' third failed attempt to host the Olympic Games in the last twenty years.

Throughout Paris' 2012 bid, great emphasis was placed on France's love and passion for sport. Two previous failures to host the Games led many to believe that Paris had learnt from its mistakes and would produce a strong bid that would not be easily challenged. This remained the case throughout much of the process as Paris was almost always the favourite to win. However, the final decision was between London and Paris, the largest cities and capitals of the United Kingdom and France, two nations with a history of rivalry. The decision of either Paris or London for 2012 would also be historic as either city would have become the first city to host the Olympic Games three times (London hosted the Games in 1908 and 1948, whilst Paris played host in 1900 and 1924). There was a huge outcry in Paris when the French capital was rejected yet again to host the Olympic Games. A sense of disbelief swept across crowds of French sports fans who had always remained confident that they would win. This victory for the British capital has given them the first 100% track record for bidding and hosting the Olympic Games three times, as their previous bids were also successful, while Paris currently holds a 40% track record for bidding and hosting the Olympic Games.

Future Bids

It is as yet uncertain whether Paris will make future bids for the Olympic Games. The London 2012 Games means that it would be highly unlikely that Paris would host the Olympics for some time after 2012, due to Paris' close proximity to London, and that the Games would have been held in Europe twice in eight years (see: Athens 2004). At a time when relations between the UK and France were at a particularly low point, due to conflicting views on the War in Iraq and differences on the future of the European Union, the decision to host the 2012 Games was yet another element to sour British-French relations.

Paris may bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics. They were considering a bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics but decided to wait until 2024. Hosting in 2024 would mark 100 years since Paris hosted the 1924 Summer Olympics which was the last time they hosted. If Paris hosts the 2024 Games they would become the second city after London to host the Olympics three times.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "London wins 2012 Olympics". CNN. 7 July 2005. Archived from the original on 17 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-06.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Report of the IOC Evaluation Commission for the Games of the XXX Olympiad in 2012" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-03-25.
  3. ↑ "Report by the IOC Candidature Acceptance Working Group to the IOC Executive Board" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. 14 March 2004. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  4. ↑ France rules out 2020 Olympic Games bid
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