We report some excerpts from the declaration by the mayor of Nice following the negative result of Annecy’s French bid for the 2018 Games.
Beyond the polemic subtleties (“in cauda venenum”) that do not change the facts, a comment is necessary: it is up to the candidate cities to demonstrate the quality of their bid and to accompany it with the necessary lobbying action to ensure it is “preferred” by the majority of the voting members.
In short, it’s up to the candidates to convince the jurors, not the other way around!
Saying that others did not understand us is a late justification and somewhat off the mark.
In fact, the strategy of Nice to support its candidacy was generally mediocre, beyond the vibrant activity of its Mayor and his legitimate ambitions.
However, there remains this response that a CNOSF member gave us to the question “Why not Nice?” on the day of the vote that made Annecy the French candidate: “Nice! But isn’t it a seaside city?”
Christian Estrosi announced yesterday, shortly after Annecy’s failure to obtain the 2018 Winter Olympics, that he was considering a possible bid from Nice for the organization of the 2022 Games. “In the coming weeks, I will consult with the main institutional, economic, and sports decision-makers interested in Olympism, on the opportunity for a new bid for the 2022 Olympic Games,” he explained in a statement.
Nice was already a candidate for the 2018 Olympics, but the French Olympic Committee preferred Annecy’s bid, which was then presented to the IOC. “It is with much regret and disappointment that I acknowledge the IOC’s decision, as Annecy’s victory would have been a victory for France….
It is yet another failure for France’s Olympic ambitions, and it is now time to ask the right questions.
How to give ourselves the best chance of obtaining the Olympic Games, how to deploy all the assets for a French bid to be effectively carried through to victory? All this experience must now be put to use.
More boldness and originality were needed in the French project.
That is why even today, I regret that the candidacy of Nice and the Southern Alps was not judged at its true worth in 2009 by the CNOSF members.
I regret that the CNOSF’s selection criteria did not highlight the originality of our concept, the essential international dimension of Nice Côte d’Azur, and the financial guarantees we were able to provide.
Nice thus offered all the conditions of an exceptional bid, the only one that could truly reverse the trend.
This is why we embarked on this venture, as I was convinced that Nice could make France win.
My disappointment is all the greater today.
In the coming weeks, I will consult with the main institutional, economic, and sports decision-makers interested in Olympism, on the opportunity for a new bid for the 2022 Olympic Games.
On the occasion of the World Figure Skating Championships that Nice will host next March, I will share our decision.
Indeed, I remain convinced that France should be able to reconnect with the Olympic dream.”
