Italian Olympic officials reportedly ruled out on Thursday Rome as Italy’s candidate to bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, because the city is “on the brink of bankruptcy”.
Italy has serious financial problems, and Rome’s Mayor Ignazio Marino said earlier this week the state of the capital’s finances would make such a bid virtually impossible.
Officials from the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) met Thursday morning to discuss a possible bid for 2024. ANSA reports that Roberto Maroni, President of the province of Lombardy, said on his arrival at the meeting “Rome is on the brink of bankruptcy. A city in these financial straits cannot be considered a candidate”.
He said Milan, Lombardy’s principal and most prosperous city, “remains the only possible candidate”.
Despite recent reports that Rome and Milan could launch a joint bid, CONI President Giovanni Malago said regulations ruled out such a venture. He said, “given the rules governing candidacies for the Olympic Games, it’s not really possible”.
Rome was forced to abandon its bid for the 2020 Games because of its economic problems.
