Home

Olympics

Paris attacks have no bearing on 2024 Olympics bid – IOC chief

Published 11/16/2015, 5:03 AM EST

Follow Us

via Reuters

PARIS (Reuters) – The deadly attacks on Paris will not hurt the French capital’s chances of hosting the 2024 Summer Games, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said on Monday.

A coordinated assault on bars, restaurants, a concert hall and a soccer stadium killed at least 129 people on Friday, raising security fears over upcoming events to be held in France, from the Climate Summit starting on Nov. 30 or next year’s Euro 2016 finals and Tour de France cycle race.

The host city of the 2024 Games will be designated in 2017 but Bach believes the atrocity that struck Paris, announced as one of five candidate cities in September, will have no bearing on the outcome of the IOC vote.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

“We are talking about the Olympic Games that will be held in nine years and terrorism is global, it is not just about a country or a city,” Bach told French sports daily L’Equipe.

Asked whether Friday’s attacks could influence the September 2017 vote being held in Peru, Bach replied: “No, the IOC members have a lot of experience… they know that nobody knows how the world will be in nine years and they know that terrorism is not a French or a Parisian problem, that it is a global challenge.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

“It does not only concern sports but all the big events and the whole society. You cannot concede victory to the terrorists. We must be united and firm, especially with the Olympic Games.”

The Olympics have experienced attacks in the past.

In 1972, 11 members of the Israel Olympic team and a German police officer were killed by Palestinian group Black September at the Munich Olympics.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

At the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, one person was killed and another died of a heart attack after a pipe bomb that injured more than 100 others was detonated at the Centennial Olympic Park.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by John O’Brien)

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Dhruv George

14,311Articles

One take at a time

Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
Show More>