Despite the coronavirus crisis, Paris 2024 wants to keep its initial budgetary balance

Published on : 09/07/2020 – 16:07Modified : 09/07/2020 – 16:12

With the risk of additional costs generated by the Covid-19 crisis, the summer should be studious for the Paris 2024 teams. We will have to do “ evolve the project in a new context “, As Tony Estanguet indicates after discussions with Emmanuel Macron, Thomas Bach and Anne Hidalgo.

The IOC no longer wants any additional costs

« Collectively, we will work together in the coming months to study, analyze and have the Paris 2024 project evaluated. We are struck by a certain form of uncertainty regarding the coming economic crisis. We will have to be careful and find solutions to prepare and anticipate things that we have not thought of until now Explains Tony Estanguet. The total budget for Paris 2024 is currently 6.8 billion euros, including 3.8 billion for the Cojo. The new project is to be put on the table by the end of 2020.

Already, the IOC, which wishes to renew the model of the Olympic Games to adapt it to today’s world (Agenda 2020 you CIO), also said he was ready to discuss the number of athletes (10,500) and disciplines during the Paris edition. The IOC does not intend to increase its financial participation in the Cojo budget (1.5 billion euros) but could be less demanding on the services imposed on the Paris 2024 committee in its specifications.

« There may be a debate that the IOC is ready to hear about the number of athletes it sends to the Games and how a certain number of disciplines are organized. “, Reports an Elyos source, adding that” the number of qualified in a discipline “Has an impact on costs or” the size of the olympic village ».

A safety mattress to deal with the unexpected

The figure of 10% of the Cojo budget, ie 300 to 400 million euros, was mentioned, from an Elysian source, but more as ” options that we are likely to activate if we see that the economic situation is deteriorating ». « It is not necessarily this type of amount that will be saved Insisted this source.

Tony Estanguet talks to him about ” room for maneuver and scale ” to be ” responsible for the current situation ” The triple Olympic champion talks about a safety mattress to deal with the vagaries of the coronavirus crisis. ” We will only spend what will be in the boxes “, He assures at the same time. According to the same source at the Elysée Palace, for Emmanuel Macron, it is necessary to ” respect the initial commitment made to the French to keep the budget envelope ” While retaining one of the IOC recommendations: sustainability.

« We want to demonstrate that this project will leave an important environmental and urban heritage in the country. There is no question of diminishing the ambition in terms of inheritance “Tony Estanguet certifies. Could Seine-Saint-Denis, the poorest department in France which will host a large part of the Games, be affected by the savings? ” There is no question. The choice of Seine-Saint-Denis as the host territory for the Olympic Games is a voluntary choice, affirmed and assumed. We really want this territory to benefit from the dynamics of the Olympic Games “Claims Tony Estanguet. About 78% of the sums committed by the State in this planetary event will go to this territory.

Reduce the percentage of temporary sites

By the fall, there should be discussions with local players to optimize and act on service levels (accommodation, catering and transport) and on competition sites. Currently, the concept is to use 70% of existing sites, 25% of temporary sites and 5% of construction. The idea would be to reduce the percentage of temporary sites and switch to existing sites to find savings. ” Financial room for maneuver today is mainly at temporary sites “States Tony Estanguet. Problem, now several cities of Seine-Saint-Denis are worried about losing tests.

Another source of financial uncertainty: transport, which will not arrive on the sites in Seine-Saint-Denis as planned during the initial project. Two lines of the Grand Paris Express (16 and 17) will certainly not be delivered on time, in particular to serve the Olympic village and the media village. Who will pay for Plan B? Discussions should be tense between the Cojo, which does not wish to manage this additional cost, the State and local actors.

How can we ensure that the initial promise of Paris 2024, which from the outset consists in maintaining budgetary costs, does not get lost along the way with the coronavirus crisis? This is the question of summer for Cojo members.