Rome: Rome will spearhead the Italian bid for the 2024 Olympic Games, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said Monday vowing a strong campaign to win the event.
Italy became the first to announce a bid taking advantage of new International Olympic Committee rules allowing events to be staged in more than one city.
Speaking at the headquarters of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) during an end-of-year medals ceremony, Renzi said:”We are standing side by side with CONI because in September 2015, we will officially present our candidature to host the 2024 Olympic Games.”
The prime minister said Rome would be the centrepiece of the Games bid but that “all the cities, from Florence and Naples to Sardinia” could be involved.
“We don’t intend to simply participate in the bidding process, this is a challenge we would like to win. We will do everything we can until 2017 when the final decision is made,” added Renzi.
The Italian capital, which last held the summer Games in 1960, shelved plans to bid for the 2020 event two years ago due to concerns over rising costs as the country battled an economic crisis. Turin held the Winter Olympics in 2006. But with new rules passed by the IOC last week allowing countries to stage competitions across several cities, potential bidders are now able to spread the costs. (pti)