After Germany, Italy. A second bid for the 2024 Summer Games was made official this Monday, December 15.
It comes from Rome, the capital of Italy. Like its German counterpart, which has already expressed its intentions (but without choosing between Berlin and Hamburg), the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) declared yesterday at the CONI headquarters, located at Foro Italico, by the President of the Italian Council, Matteo Renzi.
“I announce that Italy is presenting its bid for the 2024 Olympic Games, with Rome at the center of the project and, around the capital, all the cities, Florence, Naples, or Sardinia,” declared Matteo Renzi.
The information had been circulating since the beginning of last week. Giovanni Malagò, the president of CONI, suggested it to the Italian press during the debates of the IOC session, last Monday in Monaco.
The recent measures taken by the IOC as part of the Agenda 2020 for a more flexible and less restrictive bidding process have dispelled the last doubts.
Furthermore, the possibility mentioned by the IOC to propose a less compact file, where it would be possible for a country to relocate certain events to existing sites, is an opportunity that Rome wants to seize to avoid, in particular, the construction of an expensive rowing basin.
“There is no project too big for Italy,” advanced the President of the Council Matteo Renzi, adding: “Our participation is not in the spirit of De Coubertin. We want to win and not just participate!”
