Paris’ plan to raise 60 million euros to fund its 2024 Olympic bid is facing major hurdles, news reports out of France claim.
The bid will receive approximately 30 million euros from the government but will need to raise another 30 million from private sources, according to RTL. Of the private money 10 million euros was expected to be donated by citizens before New Years Eve, but to date only 629 thousand has been raised, according to RTL, far short of expectations.
Launched in September, the Je rêve des Jeux campaign was to raise the funds through selling commemorative bracelets costing 2 euros and through patrons willing to donate 2,024 euros per year until 2017. Success of the patron program was limited and plans to raise further funds through auctions of sport memorabilia were made, but apparently also fell flat.
According to RTL an auction of the shirt of basketball player Nicolas Batum went for only 21 euros and the shirt of archer Berengere Schuh sold for the same price.
Sports Minister Patrick Kanner told the radio station that it was “a serious problem” that he would be investigating in the new year, but he denied that additional public funds would be requested. Instead, he said, several ways of engaging corporate sponsors are being considered.
Bidding can be costly and recent successful bids have reportedly spent over USD $100 million to secure the Games. Though the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Agenda 2020 reforms have been designed to reduce the cost of bidding, the largest and costliest efforts remains – marketing and lobbying.
France’s previous Olympic bid, Annecy for the 2018 Winter Games, also struggled to raise funds and reportedly spent the least among rival bidders on its campaign. The city finished last receiving only 7 of a possible 95 votes.
The next bid deadline will arrive February 17 when the first installment of the bid book is due along with crucial guarantees. Paris is bidding against Los Angeles, Rome, and Budapest for the 2014 Games. The IOC will select a host city September 2017.
