About one month after the official designation of Paris as Host City of the Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2024, ministerial offices are mobilized.
They intend to participate in the coordination of the stages that will mark the months ahead, with the State guaranteeing the delivery of the Games, with an investment of 1 billion euros.
In fact, meetings are scheduled throughout the week and show the dynamic currently in place at the head of State.
Appointed to the position of Interministerial Delegate to the 2024 Games, the former Deputy Secretary General at the French Presidential Palace, current Mayor of Prades (South of France), Jean Castex, will also be at the heart of the week’s exchanges.
Shortly after his appointment, Jean Castex had specified his new role :
“My mission will consist in accompanying and coordinating all the services of the State mobilized to make this event a success, alongside the Sports Movement and local authorities, in particular the City of Paris.
The aim is to ensure that these Games are exemplary in terms of budgetary control, environmental and social impact and security. They must boost France’s growth, strengthen its international image, but also serve the country as a whole, by promoting all sports practices and involving all territories”.
Successively, Jean Castex was received on Tuesday by Julien Denormandie, Secretary of State to the Minister of Territorial Cohesion, and will meet with Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Friday.
The Minister of Sports will meet the Deputy Mayor of Paris in charge of sports and tourism and the President of the Paris region. On Wednesday, October 11, Laura Flessel will receive Jean-François Martins, before exchanging the day after tomorrow with Valerie Pecresse.
Following the example of Jean Castex’s appointments, these two talks should be an opportunity to discuss the next steps of the Olympic and Paralympic project, with the City of Paris and the Paris Region being two of the main stakeholders of Paris 2024.
In addition to the individual appointments on her agenda, the Minister has visited the headquarters of the French Olympic Committee (CNOSF) to attend the Board of the Paris 2024 Bid Committee on Tuesday.
This meeting was one of the last of the decision-making body of the French bid.
Following the designation of the Host City, the Bid Committee must clean up salaries and invoices before leaving room for the Organizing Committee (OCOG), which will monitor the preparations and the delivery of the Games.
“Within five months following the execution of Host City Contract, the Host City and the Host NOC will form the OCOG, as an entity endowed with legal personality under the laws of the Host Country and in a manner providing for maximum efficiency with respect to its operations and its rights and obligations under the HCC.
The Host City and the Host NOC shall keep the IOC informed on all matters relating to the structuring and formation of OCOG”.
(Paragraph 3.1 of Clause 3 of the Host City Agreement)
Chaired by Tony Estanguet – IOC member for France and until now co-chair of the Bid Committee – the OCOG will be a private, not-for-profit entity and will be complemented by two separate bodies : the Olympic and Paralympic Equipment Delivery Company (SOLIDEO), which will be led by the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and the Paris 2024 Legacy Committee.
For the first related structure, the mission will focus on the delivery of venues and projects relevant to the Games, with the assistance of public authorities and private actors who will be involved in the construction sites.
For the second structure, the search for a legacy will be the key word, with the participation of project stakeholders, the economic community and civil society.
As part of Paris’s previous bid to host the Summer Games, governance had been thought differently. In 2005, the Paris 2012 Bid Committee had proposed the establishment of an Olympic Coordination Organization, in addition to the OCOG.
In parallel with the installation of the Organizing Committee, the French authorities will also oversee the writing and adoption of the Olympic Law.
Auditioned for the French National Assembly, Laura Flessel had recently reported about it that she wanted an adoption of this key document within six months after the Lima IOC Session.
This deadline should therefore allow Parliamentarians to ensure the security of the Games in France by taking into consideration the requirements contained in the clauses of the Host City Contract.
Among the requirements of the latter document, clause 13 – “Respect of the Olympic Charter and promotion of Olympism” – and clause 22 – “Taxes” – are not insignificant criteria.
To this Olympic Law, other important documents will be added in the coming months.
Once again, the Host City Contract signed on 13 September by the Mayor of Paris, the President of the French Olympic Committee, and the IOC, provides details on the desired documents.
“Within eighteen months after the formation of the OCOG, the OCOG shall develop, in collaboration with the IOC and based upon generic documents communicated by the IOC, and shall submit to the IOC for its written approval the following documents :
– a. a document detailing the OCOG’s vision descibed in the Host City’s candidature documentation, as well as the key strategic, governance and reporting processes applicable to the planning, organising, financing and staging of the Games (referred to as ‘Games Foundation Plan’) ; and
– b. a document describing the main planning framework, timelines and milestones to be respected by the Host City, the Host NOC and the OCOG in the performance of their obligations under the HCC (referred to as the ‘Games Delivery Plan’)”.
(Paragraph 26.1 of Clause 26 of the Host City Agreement).
Changes may subsequently be made under the supervision of the Olympic institution (paragraph 26.2) and details of the budget should be provided (paragraph 26.3).
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