It was just last week that London entered the race for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, and Paris joined the race a couple of days ago. And already there is a war of words between the two bid cities.
Agence France-Presse reports that French sports minister Jean-Francois Lamour has dismissed London’s 2012 bid because London does not have the necessary sporting wherewithal.
Lamour, a two-time Olympic saber fencing champion, dismissed suggestions Paris would have to raise local taxes by 20 per cent to pay for the Games as London mayor Ken Livingstone has proposed.
Lamour told the Le Parisien daily, “London’s a bad example. In London, there’s nothing, no sport, no sporting movement, no infrastructure whose management and operation is assured by the state, local authority and sports organization.
“In contrast the Stade de France is a model of successful know-how”.
Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoe has already said Paris will spend more than London to win the Games.
In an interview with sports daily L’Equipe, he said he expected the bid budget to be 30 million euros (22.5 million pounds) compared with the 17 million pounds London plans to spend. “It will be made up of private and public funds”.
He said the Paris’ bid for the 2008 Games failed because then Mayor Jean Tibiere did not front the campaign.
Delanoe has strong support from French President Jacques Chirac, who told Le Parisien he was wholeheartedly behind the project.
Meanwhile Madrid mayor Jose Maria Alvarez del Manzano has urged the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to give cities, who have never staged the Games, a chance. Madrid is also bidding for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
He said, “when the bids are equal, the IOC should award the Games to a city which has never organized them”.
Spain organized the Games in 1992. Barcelona was the host city.
