Paris 2024: Speech by Anne Hidalgo, alongside the sporting world.
This press release dates from Tuesday June 23, 2015, at the time of Paris's candidacy for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Only the spoken word is authentic.
“By declaring itself a candidate for the organization of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Paris is looking ahead to its future while being faithful to its history.
A century after the 1924 Olympic Games, it is a new collective adventure that we must write together – a collective adventure since it is shared between the sports movement and civil society, Paris and the municipalities of the metropolis, communities and the State.
Collective adventure also since it sets in motion all the components of the forces of greater Paris, at the forefront of which I place our youth who will grow at the same time as they make this beautiful project grow. Finally, a collective adventure since it allows the convergence in Paris of citizens from all the countries of the world for an immense manifestation of peace and fraternity.
In this adventure it will first be a question of building – building an application whose financial and ecological sobriety correspond to the demands of our time – building a metropolis within which no territory would be left out common progress – thereby building hope and the concrete conditions of a fairer and more fraternal society in which the ideals of Olympism can be embodied on a daily basis.
In this adventure it will then be a question of conquering – conquering new progress in the areas of the environment, citizenship, innovation, sport and culture – conquering new common spaces which will remain as a magnificent legacy of the organization of the Olympic and Paralympic Games – conquering this unity of the Greater Paris metropolis on which elected officials have worked for more than a decade and which the shared organization of the Games would magnificently seal.
This spirit of conquest and surpassing is that of sport, of high-level sport embodied by athletes from all backgrounds and by the Olympism.
We must be aware that these Games could contribute to breaking down the geographical and psychological barriers that we often talk about between Paris and the cities that surround it, they would be a magnificent incarnation of the Greater Paris that we are building.
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In this adventure it will finally be a question of revealing ourselves, to the world as well as to ourselves,
the extent of our possibilities – I am thinking first here of the formidable human wealth of the cosmopolitan society which is that of the Parisian metropolis: I am convinced that the combination of these talents constitutes our best chance of win.
I think of our heritage that we must rediscover and re-enchant to show it to the whole world: this application offers us the opportunity to look at the Arc de Triomphe, the Champs, the Invalides or even our large places with a new perspective – and I think of all the achievements to come, both in terms of sports facilities and in terms of housing, which should allow us to take charge of our history and decide on our future.
This candidacy is that of Paris which welcomes the world, which offers the world the best of what it has built and what it offers.
A candidacy for the Olympic Games is built and experienced like a stage race. For
hope to win, it is therefore essential to advance step by step, without giving in to pressure
media, and ensuring that the driving forces of a society bring about a project
common and converge towards it. This is what we did by starting by letting
the initiative in the sports movement which is the alpha and omega of any credible candidacy. In
resisting the false media urgency, we gave athletes time to reflect, consult, analyze the causes of our previous failures and consider the means for future success.
Their conclusions were clear both on the appropriateness of a candidacy and on the meaning that should be given to it and the modalities in which it should be written. If athletes are at the heart of the project, it is to carry it throughout society
This candidacy is all the more founded today in the face of the attacks that took place
struck in January, our city was able to show unity, a common desire for democracy and peace which are constitutive of the Olympic spirit. It makes sense, for a society that was hit because it was open and tolerant, to host the Olympic Games to once again tell the world: we will not give in on freedom, we will not give in on tolerance. , we will not give in on the opening.
The movement which was born in Parisian society in reaction to the terrorist attacks counts today and must count tomorrow in the choice and modalities of a candidacy. In the spirit of January 11 and in the original Olympic spirit there is the same unity in diversity, the same convergence in respect for differences, and the same demand for peace
community and sharing. Because this unity is the foundation of the very meaning of the Paris candidacy, it must remain present at each stage of the long adventure of a candidacy.
It is in this spirit that a consultation with all Parisians will be organized in 2016.
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I am convinced that their voices, their desires, their ideas, their differences will not weaken a candidacy but will strengthen it. We must therefore take the risk and play the game of democracy.
Beyond the symbol and beyond the benefits in terms of attractiveness, why does a Paris candidacy make sense today?
Firstly because it would constitute a powerful lever in the service of the progress that the
populations of our territories aspire. Behind the Olympic Games, we must see the thousands of homes built, the improvement of the public transport network, the acceleration of the ecological transition.
We must see the reduction of territorial inequalities and the consolidation of social cohesion. The Games are a magnificent project accelerator. Of our projects and those of all
Franciliens.
Games are therefore a way to go faster and further in all areas where we
fellow citizens want concrete progress. The Olympic and Paralympic Games are
obviously a moment of sport, celebration and territorial cohesion but above all they carry with them the promise of a heritage. A material heritage certainly, in terms of transport and housing, but above all an intangible heritage of living together, beyond borders
traditional administrative procedures.
The legacy they will leave goes well beyond the sporting and media horizons. It concerns
urban planning, ecology, education, housing, accessibility… in a word it concerns the face of our Metropolis. It is therefore a question of building a candidacy which resembles our society and which resembles our territory.
This obviously implies that the metropolitan dimension must be assumed and claimed, the Olympic Games having to be thought of and carried out as a formidable means of uniting Paris and the departments which surround it. We must seize today all the opportunities that a candidacy from the metropolis would bring to reduce the economic, social and cultural divides which make, for example, Paris and the Seine Saint Denis territories both so close and so distant.
To build together a candidacy and games that are accelerators of progress, we will obviously need to mobilize all components of Parisian and metropolitan society.
I have already expressed it several times, and I will say it again today before your assembly: there is a story to build, a common adventure to live with the entire metropolis.
A metropolis strong in its youth, which needs hope as much as concrete and lasting commitments to fully flourish in its life and its citizenship. A metropolis also strong in its global population, rich in its cultural diversity, its talents and its strong ambitions in terms of innovation and economic progress.
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A metropolis finally strong in its strategic territory, which, through its achievements and its projects, must become attractive to all because it is livable socially, economically, culturally and oh so sportingly.
The timetable for the Parisian candidacy today is ideal. Cities from South America and Asia will embody the Games in 2016 and 2024. A European city can today serve as a new showcase for the Olympic Games. In this regard, the Parisian candidacy is full of potential.
Paris will be able to respond to the sporting challenge posed by the IOC: sport is at the heart of our policies
public. Parisian and metropolitan clubs, whether professional or amateur, carry our ambition daily.
Paris will also be able to fully register in the IOC Agenda 2020: an Agenda which tells us that candidacies must be sustainable, sustainable, and fully engage civil society. Paris does indeed have adequate infrastructure. »
Anne Hidalgo
Mayor of Paris
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