POSTED: December 5th 2010
NewsUpdate
Annecy confident of meeting IOC demands to dispel any 2018 doubts
KEIR RADNEDGE / Sports Features Communications
LONDON/ANNECY, Dec 05: The bid team from Annecy 2018 has hit back at an article in French daily newspaper L’Equipe that suggested French IOC members Guy Drut and Jean-Claude Killy were distancing themselves from the city’s bid to host the Winter Games.
Annecy is in a three-way race with Munich and PyeongChang of South Korea. The International Olympic Committee confirmed its candidature last June but recommended certain changes to the event-venues spread.
This work has been completed and from February 9-12 Annecy will be the first stop for the IOC evaluation commission on its two-month assessment tour to all three contenders.
The article in L’Equipe quoted Drut as fretting that Annecy had too much catching-up to do and Killy, president of the co-ordination commission for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, as worrying about the outcome of the evaluation commission’s visit.
A statement in response, issued by the bid team led by ceo Edgar Grospiron, sought to counter such pessimism. The statement was also signed by Christian Monteil, chairman of the Annecy 2018 supervisory board and president of the Haute-Savoie General Council, as well as by all members of the board (the Government's representative, the president of the French National Olympic Committee, the president of the Rhône-Alpes region, the Mayor of Annecy).
Organisation
It read: “Last June, the IOC asked Annecy to present a more compact organisation. Three months later, with the unfailing support of all concerned, Annecy 2018 presented a new, ultra-compact concept organised around the two main bases, Annecy and Chamonix Mont-Blanc.
“This concept is fully in line with the IOC's demands, and was welcomed at the majors’ international presentations. Annecy 2018 has thus demonstrated its ability to adapt quickly in response to the IOC's remarks, with the ultimate aim of submitting the best offer to host the 2018 Winter Games.”
The statement notes that the bid book will be submitted formally on January 11 ahead of the evaluation visit.
To meet the IOC demands, the statement concludes: “Fully aware of the level of demand on the international stage, the bid committee has already put together a new organisation, designed to strengthen this international promotion . . . in absolute compliance with Annecy 2018's declared values."
Grospiron was reported in Le Monde as saying that he had raised with his board some concerns over financial support but that he had telephoned both Drut and Killy who had assured him of their backing and denied the critical sentiments attributed to them by L'Equipe.
The bid committee and the French IOC members meet next to study the way forward. The IOC makes up its mind on July 6 in in Durban.
Keywords · 2018 Winter Olympics · Annecy · Drut · Killy
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