A step has been taken for Los Angeles' candidacy for the 2024 Games. A double step. The first seemed improbable until the last day: a victory for Donald Trump in the American presidential elections. Anything but good news for the Californian team, resolutely Democratic and openly closer to Hillary Clinton. The second stage, more anticipated, took place at the Sheraton in Doha and the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). Tuesday, November 15, the Los Angeles bid presented, in 20 minutes, its vision and its file for the 2024 Games. An exercise also offered to the two other cities in the race, Budapest and Paris, according to the same rules and a format identical.

10 months before the IOC vote for the host city of the Games, this double stage does not yet appear decisive, but it could count at the time of the vote. Angela Ruggiero (photo above), the director of strategy for Los Angeles 2024 and an IOC member, explained this to FrancsJeux perspectives and challenges. An interview in two parts.

FrancsJeux: Let's start with the annoying question: what effect could Donald Trump have on the Los Angeles candidacy?

Angela Ruggiero: We knew before the election that we would need the support of the new president, whether it was Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. The election has always been in our perspective. Donald Trump is obviously very busy at the moment, he is training his team, but we will need to get in touch with him quickly, because we need the support of the federal government, especially on security issues. It is obvious. But, as you know, our bid is privately funded, and it is supported by the City of Los Angeles and the State of California. Many different opinions are currently being expressed in the United States, as in the Olympic movement and the rest of the world. But I am convinced that the Games in Los Angeles can bring together people of all origins and religions around the Olympic values.

What do you know about what Donald Trump thinks about the Games and the LA 2024 bid?

It's too early to answer. He is in the process of building his team. But I know, having known him around ten years ago, that he is a big fan of sport and the Olympic Games. He carried the flame before the Athens Games. 10 months before the vote, we have time before us to discuss these questions. Today, we prefer to focus on files over which we have full control and control. When the time comes to do so, we will speak with the new president of the United States to gain his support.

Will the election of Donald Trump change your strategy in the coming months? It has been said that if Donald Trump wins, you could distance yourself from Washington and present yourself as a more Californian candidate...

We are a California application. From the beginning. We have the full support of the Mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, whose first action after his election was to approach the American Olympic Committee to express his wish that the Games return to L.A. We also have the support of the Governor of California, a state with the 6th most powerful economy in the world. We will need the support of Donald Trump, we will discuss it with him when the time is right. But his election will not change our strategy. We knew, from the start, that the American election would appear on the horizon and that we had to integrate it into our trajectory.

You are the director of strategy for the Los Angeles bid. Over the next 10 months, will your campaign approach be more national or more international?

We are going to do both in parallel. We need support from across the country, not just California. In Los Angeles, 88% of the population said they were in favor of the Games. But we will continue to work at the national level to make our candidacy that of the whole country. At the same time, we want to convince the IOC members, therefore the voters, and the entire Olympic movement, of our vision: new Games for a new era. The presentation made in Doha to ANOC allowed us to show this vision in its entirety. We were able to present a reality, people now know what we are talking about.

To be continued…