Raggi cited fears of corruption, real estate speculation and ballooning public debt among her reasons for withdrawing Rome’s candidacy.
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“Following an in-depth analysis, we believe the conditions for the ongoing candidacy of the City of Rome for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics are not there”, it read.
Raggi, who was elected in June, said she felt that the games “are just not sustainable” and hosting them would “just bring further debts”, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Paris, Los Angeles and Budapest are still vying to host the Games. The IOC and other private interests usually profit while the host city and its taxpayers are stuck with cost overruns and other problems. “We don’t need more white elephants”.
Describing an Olympic pursuit as “irresponsible”, Raggi said the bid would shift money and focus from more pressing issues including the city’s financial crisis. Despite the unknown of what will ultimately happen with Rome, there’s undeniable excitement from the LA84 Foundation, which serves as a legacy to the 1984 Summer Games with more than $230 million invested in Southern California communities over the last three decades.
The “no” is due to criticisms from both Raggi and her party, Beppe Grillo’s Five Star Movement.
Raggi’s announcement pretty much puts an end to Rome’s chances.
“There is no confirmation that Rome has departed from the 2024 race and as such it is not appropriate for us to offer any comment except to wish our Italian colleagues well during this period of hard time”, the Budapest Olympic committee said. And the $11 billion that Athens paid to host the 2004 games is still considered a major factor in how Greece’s public debt got so out of hand.
Boston withdrew its bid for the 2024 Games a little over a year ago. Italian Olympic committee chief Giovanni Malago had been scheduled to meet Raggi on Wednesday, but he left city hall after waiting for half an hour, saying she had not turned up.
Malago had previously pledged that the estimated 5.3-bn-euro budget for the 2024 Games would come exclusively from the Olympic Committee, sponsors and state coffers. “We want sports available to everyone”.
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In November 2015 a clear majority of the city’s residents voted to pull out of the race just a year after they were celebrating Hamburg’s victory over Berlin to be Germany’s candidate. And that still doesn’t mean the the Italian Olympic Committee has to drop its bid, though the lack of support by the mayor of a host city is certainly the death knell for any project.
