Games bid heads to the wire

PARIS. - The fight between Los Angeles and Paris to host the 2024 Summer Olympics is set to go down to the wire after the head of the IOC’s inspection team heaped lavish praise on both cities.

Patrick Baumann said neither city presented a risk, saying it came down to a choice of the 95 members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) between “two different visions” on how the Summer Games be held.

Baumann also refused to be drawn on whether the confirmed presence at the decisive vote in Lima on September 13 of newly-installed French President Emmanuel Macron could hand Paris the advantage should US counterpart Donald Trump not be present for Los Angeles.

“We’re fortunate that we have two city candidates who do not present major risks that we’ve been able to highlight to host the Olympic Games,” Baumann said at his team’s closing press conference in Paris, which last hosted the Olympics in 1924, Los Angeles in 1984.

“Both cities have the Olympic tradition, both cities have the venues we need, both cities have very dedicated and motivated teams that want to lead that.”

But Baumann added: “Both cities are different. These two cities have the capacity to organise the Games.

“But these cities, because they’re in different countries with different cultures, have differing visions. It’s one of the key elements. IOC members will have to choose between one vision or the other.”