Raggi’s rejection was another stinging blow for the IOC’s “Olympic Agenda 2020” program, which was created to make bidding for and hosting the games more flexible and more affordable.
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Rome: Rome’s bid to host the 2024 summer Olympics was dealt a potentially fatal blow on Wednesday after the city mayor refused to give her formal backing.
The International Olympic Committee’s “Agenda 2020” aimed to cut the cost of the Games and make bidding more attractive, but has failed to stop cities withdrawing their candidacies, scared off by the size, cost and complexity of the event.
After months of speculation Raggi has confirmed that neither herself nor her Five Star Movement (M5S) political party will support the city’s efforts, claiming that proceeding would be “irresponsible”. “The Olympics serve business associations, but not citizens”.
The day included a touch of drama after Italy’s Olympic Committee president, Giovanni Malago, who was supposed to meet with Raggi before the press conference, left city hall in a huff after complaining that he had waited for her for half an hour but that she had not showed up.
So far, it’s been a bumpy ride. Five members of her administration have already resigned amid corruption allegations or transparency issues. The city now faces a $14.6 billion debt. But he was eventually seen as ineffective and booted out previous year.
Raggi later said her absence from the meeting was “a setback”. “They will bring only debt”, Raggi said.
“You can not just give up on organizing large events for fear of theft and waste”, wrote TV journalist Myrta Merlino. The head of CONI also addressed the Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, who repeatedly spoke in favor of the Olympics for their benefits, both for Rome and for Italy.
FILE – In this Thursday, June 23, 2016 file photo, Rome’s Mayor Virginia Raggi waves to reporters as she leaves the Rome’s Vittoriano Unknown soldier monument, after laying a wreath.
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.
Indeed, rival cities werent ready to count Rome out altogether.
“Boston, Hamburg, and Madrid all had strong reasons to oppose hosting the Games”. Raggi made it clear she does not regard the Olympic bid a good idea for the cash-strapped city, but stopped short of saying she will not back it and had previously suggested holding a referendum to decide whether to host the games.
Budapest, Los Angeles and Paris remain contenders for the 2024 bid. Los Angeles is seen as the front-runner.
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“The Eternal City” of Rome backtracked of its bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games.
