It was announced, he will be present. François Hollande will travel to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Games. An Olympic journey whose program will extend well beyond just the opening ceremony. The French head of state wants to take advantage of the Games to support Paris's candidacy for the 2024 Olympics. Support that will not go unnoticed in the Olympic city.
François Hollande's Olympic operation is due to begin on Thursday August 4. On the eve of the opening of the Games, the Head of State will have lunch in the village with part of the French delegation. A friendly way to extend his support to a French team to which he has already shown his encouragement. According to Le Parisien, François Hollande wrote a personalized letter of encouragement at the beginning of the week to each member of the French delegation.
The rest of the journey will be more political. On the program, a series of interviews with three members of the IOC. In the evening, he will attend the official dinner given in his honor by Thomas Bach, the President of the IOC.
Second stage of the rocket, Friday August 5. At the start of the morning, an interview with Thomas Bach. A little later, the Paris 2024 press conference. A highlight of the candidacy campaign, with a format and strict rules, imposed with an iron fist by the IOC. Thirty minutes, not one more. Six speakers maximum. François Hollande will be one of them, alongside Tony Estanguet, one of the two French members of the IOC, and Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris.
At lunchtime, François Hollande will sit down at the table with the personalities involved in Paris' bid for the 2024 Games.
The French president will then meet the Brazilian Minister of Culture in the afternoon. Then he will attend the reception offered by the Brazilian interim president, Michel Temer, in honor of the heads of state and government present for the start of the Games. Among them, the Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, also on the Olympic campaign, very committed to the Rome 2024 bid. François Hollande will finally go to the opening ceremony, at the Maracana stadium. According to the Elysée, he is not expected to attend Olympic competitions.
