In a column published by France Info , Guy Drut, member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), called for a rethink of the organization of the Paris Olympic Games in 2024, following the epidemic of coronavirus. Faced with the economic difficulties that are about to cross the country, he calls to forget "the superfluous" and "stay with the essentials".
"Today, in these times and even more tomorrow than yesterday, all French women and men would not understand that the euros spent are not usefully spent," he said on Europe 1 Sunday. The Olympic Games "must be reinvented," says the 1976 Olympic champion in the 110-meter hurdles.
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"A project disconnected from reality"
"The crisis we are going through has a lasting impact on our daily lives, our way of life, our economy, our social pact, our choice of society. [...] The Olympic and Paralympic Games are no exception to this new context. also reinvent yourself, "wrote Guy Drut in his gallery.
According to him, the simple postponement of the Olympic Games, already decided for those of Tokyo, cannot be the only measure put in place to deal with the crisis. Thus, he describes the "beautiful project" of the Paris Olympics in 2024 as "obsolete, outdated, disconnected from reality". The former glory of French athletics believes that it is necessary to "make a budgetary reassessment of what will cost the Olympics in Paris 2024".
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"Useful, sober and responsible"
Inviting to "think useful, sober and responsible", Guy Drut evokes two lines of thought intended to contain the costs: "sanctuariser certain tests on one and the same site, whatever the organizing country", "for example Tahiti or Hawaii" for surfing, and limit the number of additional sports. "It is very expensive to build new equipment for an event that lasts only three, four days."
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"We must keep the unit of time with the Olympic Games which take place from such date to such date, but [the units] of place and action can vary", which would allow "reuse of existing sites", estimates l former athlete.