Paris attacks have no bearing on 2024 bid - IOC chief

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.

Paris attacks have no bearing on 2024 bid - IOC chief

(Reuters)





A coordinated assault on bars, restaurants, a concert hall and a football 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.

"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.

"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.

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
2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world