The first Executive Board meeting of the Organising Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (“Paris 2024”) took place this afternoon at Le Bourget in Seine-Saint-Denis. The choice of Seine-Saint-Denis for this inaugural meeting was a symbolic gesture, as this territory will be transformed and become a true showcase of the legacy of the Games by 2024.

Unity in diversity
A few weeks after the creation of the Organising Committee, this inaugural Executive Board meeting opens a new cycle in the life of Paris 2024. Chaired by its President Tony Estanguet, this new team (cf. the list of Executive Board members attached) perfectly reflects the diversity of actors mobilised around this common ambition:

The French sport movement is represented by Denis Masseglia, president of NOC France, Emmanuelle Assmann, president of NPC France, and the French IOC members Guy Drut and Jean-Christophe Rolland, but also by five athletes, chosen as qualified personalities by Tony Estanguet: Martin Fourcade (Biathlon), who will also assume the presidency of the Paris 2024 Athletes’ Commission, Marie-José Pérec (Athletics), Nantenin Keita (Para Athletics), Sarah Ourahmoune (Boxing) and Guy Forget (Tennis). In total, 40% of the Board members have participated in Olympic and Paralympic Games and have won a total of 41 Olympic and Paralympic medals, underlining the project’s sport DNA.

Furthermore, public stakeholders are also widely represented : Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris ; Valérie Pécresse, President of the Paris Region ; Laura Flessel, Minister of Sports ; Sophie Cluzel, State Secretary in charge of Persons with Disabilities ; Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Treasury ; Stéphane Troussel, President of the Departmental Council of Seine-Saint-Denis ; Patrick Ollier, President of the Greater Paris Metropolis, etc.

Finally, Executive Board membership will be extended to include personalities from civil society, the business world and NGOs, to reflect the diversity and ambition of this project.

Five main priorities
This first Executive Board meeting was an opportunity to outline the main priorities of the coming months, until the first visit of the IOC Coordination Commission in June. “In sport, as in other domains, we value the importance of a strong start” reminds Tony Estanguet, Paris 2024 President. “We want to move forward with our five priorities. The experience of the recent Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang reminded us of the importance to anticipate as much as possible in terms of organisation so that we can focus on the experience offered to all participants and on the legacy that the Games will leave behind.” Over the coming weeks, therefore, Paris 2024 will focus on finalising:

The vision for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, in order to involve the entire French society, with its diverse character, in this project;

The venue concept, to reduce costs as much as possible while preserving a unique experience for the Olympic and Paralympic Family;

The legacy strategy, led by an ambition to organise Games that are useful for the populations and will leave a positive impact for all territories;

The recruitment of the Paris 2024 executive team, to build the most qualified team that can propose unique, history-making Games;

The marketing plan agreement.

First key decisions to launch the project
Finally, this first Executive Board meeting set the framework for the activities of Paris 2024 and made a number of key decisions to facilitate its operations:
- Entry of additional members to the Board:

Two associate members with consultative vote:

A representative from the Public Territorial Establishment of Plaine Commune

A representative from the Public Territorial Establishment of Paris Terres d’Envol

Two members with a consultative vote:

Bernard Thibault, representing labour unions

Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux, representing employers’ unions

- The voting of a first budget, on the basis of the one announced during the bid phase
- The remuneration of the President and the CEO of Paris 2024, upon recommendation of the Remunerations Committee

Tony ESTANGUET, Paris 2024 President: “This first Executive Board meeting signals our desire to make a strong start. There is no time to lose. We will work in the coming months on our five priorities which will allow us to strengthen our project: vision, venue concept, legacy, recruitment and marketing. Our entire team is focused on the same objective: making these Games an incredible celebration of sport and offer Games that are useful, sustainable and drive our society forward. The new members joining us, like Martin Fourcade, Sarah Ourahmoune, Nantenin Keita, Marie-Jo Perec and Guy Forget, will bring their wealth of experience, expertise and energy. We are ready to go!”

Anne HIDALGO, Mayor of Paris: “This first Executive Board meeting marks an important new step in the preparation of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Paris 2024 is therefore at work to deliver the Games we have imagined: Games of sport, of celebration and for the people, of course, but also sustainable and meaningful, fiscally responsible and respectful of the environment. SOLIDEO will also come into action on March 30, with its own first Executive Board meeting. Therefore, these two pillars of the 2024 Games will be fully operational”.

Denis MASSEGLIA, President of NOC France: “With this first Executive Board meeting for Paris 2024, I feel that we are now well into the process of turning our project into reality. We have six years to organise an unforgettable event and to also make sport a priority for France.”

Laura FLESSEL, Minister of Sports: “Promise kept ! Less than 6 months after the award of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games to Paris, France is in working order to launch the first works. As evidence we can mention the recent vote of the Olympic and Paralympic law, the appointment of the Interministerial delegate for the Games, the creation of the SOLIDEO, and today the official kick-off of Paris 2024. This first Executive Board meeting is a decisive milestone to define collectively the main objectives for the preparation of exemplary and sustainable Games, with benefits for all the French people. We are implementing right now the means to organise successfully our Games in a controlled and transparent framework.

Valérie PECRESSE, President of the Paris Region: “This first Executive Board meeting of the Organising Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Paris 2024), we enter a new cycle. The sports movement, territories and the government are now united to work hand in hand with Tony Estanguet and his new team to deliver exemplary Games. And as I like symbols, I am delighted that Paris 2024 walks on the footsteps of the Region: we recently moved our offices to Seine-Saint-Denis and this first Board meeting takes place in Le Bourget, in the very heart of a territory that will be transformed thanks to the Games.”

Emmanuelle ASSMANN, President of NPC France: “This first Paris 2024 Executive Board meeting marks the beginning of a new period when our ambitions will turn into acts. We want to organise the most successful Olympic and Paralympic Games we can; Games that will shape tomorrow’s society through a growth in sport practice and improved accessibility.”

Stéphane TROUSSEL, President of the Departmental Council of Seine-Saint-Denis: “Seine-Saint-Denis today is a suburban territory, the result of past migrations and the industrial history of Grand Paris. Seine-Saint-Denis is now the heart of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic project; I truly believe that here you will find a young, energetic and diverse generation 2024, ready to contribute through innovative ideas and to welcome the world in a new part of Greater Paris. It is on their behalf that we will commit to deliver spectacular Games, and the strongest possible legacy.”

Patrick OLLIER, President of the Greater Paris Metropolis: “The Greater Paris Metropolis is the contracting authority of the Olympic aquatic centre at Saint-Denis just across from the Stade de France. This aquatic centre is the only permanent venue that will be built specifically for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024. It will leave a significant and sustainable legacy for the country.”