'The Strength of a Dream' can deliver Olympics to Paris
The Paris bid team competing to win the right to host the 2024 Olympics unveiled its slogan 'The Strength of a Dream", and rolled out a series of proposed world renowned Olympic sites on Wednesday.
At an official ceremony at the city's brand new Philharmonie centre, built by the celebrated architect Jean Nouvel, the team's co-president and triple Olympic kayak champion Tony Estanguet insisted Paris was already well equiped.
"Around 95 per cent of the sites already exist. The Paris project is completely under control," said the 37-year-old triple world champion.
"We will keep the costs under control. And we are lucky to have so many extraordinary sites and beautiful monuments to fall back on."
Paris will use its world famous tourist sites such as the Seine river for swimming, The Eiffel Tower for the start and end to certain races, Grand Palais exhibition centre for fencing and the Champs Elysees to stage the Olympic cycling road race, among many other top notch sites.
"With all these sites we believe the Olympic Games would be just incredible," Estanguet said.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo warned that although the bid was a good one, the process was a competition and by no means a foregone conclusion.
"We know that the road will be long and that it's a very high level competition. We will have to be the best and we will have to be supported and support each other," she said.
With the deadline set for Wednesday midnight for delivery of the first stage of the 2024 Olympic Games bid, Paris handed in its proposals on 80 USB keys at Lausanne.
Earlier on Wednesday a delighted IOC President Thomas Bach confirmed the four top candidates and said he was looking forward to a fascinating competition.
"Los Angeles, Rome, Budapest and Paris are all submitting projects fully in line with Olympic Agenda 2020," he said.
Paris suffered a traumatic loss to London for the 2012 Games and insists this time its Olympic project will be turned towards their youth and suburbs where the local Paris government is planning to extend its Grand Paris urban regeneration project.
The Philharmonie is situated at the Saint Denis site near the Stade de France national stadium where the Paris bid will set out a massive refurbishment akin to what happened to London's East End for the 2012 Games.
A week after unveiling its logo representing the Eiffel Tower, Paris also unveiled its slogan -- 'La force d'un reve' -- with Los Angeles having earlier revealed its 'Follow the Sun' slogan.
More detailed dossiers will be submitted in October before visits to the candidates by the IOC evaluation commission in early 2017.
The vote for the host city will take place on September 13, 2017 in Lima.