Saturday April 20, 2024

Paris Olympic bid records over EUR 5m budget surplus

Published : 19 Jan 2018, 01:54

  DF-Xinhua Report
French President Emmanuel Macron (3rd L), Paris 2024 Olympic bid co-president Tony Estanguet (4th L) attend a press conference after the presentation of the Paris 2024 Candidate City Briefing for International Olympic Committee (IOC) members at the SwissTech Convention Centre, in Lausanne, Switzerland, July 11, 2017. File Photo Xinhua.

Paris 2024 Bid Committee confirmed at its Thursday's final board meeting that it realized a budget surplus exceeding five million euros, as the organization was ready to pass the baton to the expected Organizing Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (OCOG).

"The board confirmed that the Bid Committee will conclude its operations with a surplus exceeding 5 million euros, with the French State, the City of Paris and the Ile-de-France Region each receiving over 1.5 million euros back as a result," read a press release following the meeting.

Paris' bidding campaign to the 2024 Olympic Games was triumphant on September 13, 2017 in Lima, Peru. For the Bid Committee, the achievement of the budget surplus is a remarkable feat in bidding history, and the approach will continue at Paris 2024 in coming years.

In four months since the signing of the Host City contract, the Bid Committee has done much in preparation for the foundation of the OCOG, who will organize, finance and deliver the Games in 2024.

The OCOG statutes were approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The Olympic and Paralympic Law was voted by the French National Assembly and will be debated at the Senate in early February. The Olympic Venue Delivery Authority was established. Recruitment for the OCOG has been underway, following the nomination of Etienne Thobois as Chief Executive Officer.

"Today we turn one of the most beautiful pages in our sports history with the awarding of the 2024 Games," said Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet.

"The adventure ahead of us will be exciting, demanding but above all full of opportunities. This challenge will require everyone's contribution and we are confident in our capacity to make of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games a project that is spectacular, useful and responsible," he added.

"The winning bid of Paris 2024 was a formidable, collective adventure. It was also the demonstration of a solid project that is responsible, diligent and serving the whole of France," commented French Sports Minister Laura Flessel.

The first General Assembly of Paris 2024 is expected to take place in early March.