The French public is being encouraged to submit ideas for Paris’ 2024 Olympic bid in what is being dubbed the “biggest ever” public engagement initiative in Olympic bid history.
Led by the bid committee and the government alongside the Ile-de-France region, the City of Paris and the National Olympic and Paralympic Committees, the initiative will allow people from across the country to engage in personal meetings or via an online platform and a with a downloadable engagement kit.
All ideas submitted will be published on the online platform, allowing public feedback and votes on proposals. Once the process has ended on 30 September 2016, the top 100 ideas will be evaluated and considered for the Paris 2024 project.
“Paris 2024 is focused on collaboration and engagement with the people of Paris and France and we are proposing an Olympic and Paralympic Games that will deliver a strong legacy for the whole country and the Olympic Movement,” said Paris 2024 co-chair Bernard Lapasset.
The launch of the scheme at the French Olympic Committee headquarters will target under-25s from across France – around 12 per cent of the nation’s 66m population is aged between 15 and 24 – and will be the first of a series of public engagement workshops. Similar events will be held in other regions and cities.
Three themes that will be addressed throughout the engagement process will be sport and society, economic and regional development, and games celebration and engagement. Sports associations, schools, businesses and community groups will be encouraged to organise and run their own engagements.
In addition, a ‘Tour de France’ will commence in September 2016 in which bid organisers will visit Paris, Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse – the locations for the Olympic football tournament if the Paris bid is successful.
Tony Estanguet, Lapasset’s Paris 2024 co-chair, added: “Our aim is to present an Olympic and Paralympic bid that works in total harmony with our city’s and nation’s long-term sports, economic, social and environmental strategies – ensuring a genuine lasting legacy for the people of Paris and France. We can only achieve this by opening up a real dialogue with the French public.”
