Time is speeding up in the race for the Summer Games in 2024. The teams from Los Angeles and Paris have closed one file, the presentation before the international federations at the SportAccord Convention, to open another, the visit of the commission evaluation of the IOC. The Californians will open the ball, from May 10.12, followed by the French, from May 14 to 16. Between these two stages, the vice-president of LA 2024, Janet Evans, answered questions from FrancsJeux.

FrancsJeux: Looking back, what do you think of the presentation of the two candidate cities to the international federations at the beginning of April during the SportAccord Convention in Aarhus?

Janet Evans: I really liked the presentations at SportAccord. Both presentations. I believe that they demonstrated, in their own way, that the two cities offered the international federations a good dossier and an interesting perspective.

But the two visions are different. In Los Angeles, you place a lot of emphasis on your desire to connect the younger generation with the Olympic movement. Is this your priority?

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are currently going through a critical period. I am convinced that today they need to reach young people and integrate their culture. This desire occupies a large part of our vision of the candidacy. Interest young people, give them a taste for sport. Sports may not be on their iPad right now. Young people in California are dynamic and very diverse. We want to take advantage of our relationships with the world of Silicon Valley to offer fans a new approach to sport. This can greatly contribute to the future of the Olympic movement.

You also place a lot of emphasis on spectacle and entertainment, the notion of “entertainment”. Is this so important for the Olympic Games?

We are in Los Angeles, the city of cinema and its industry. People love our city for this identity and this culture of spectacle and entertainment. Today, the entertainment industry has become incredibly creative in the way it tells stories, presents the world, and approaches subjects. All of this constitutes an asset for our candidacy. Thanks to this, we can find a new and original way of showing the Games.

Brian Cookson, the president of the UCI, asked you during the presentations at SportAccord about the place of cycling in Los Angeles, an entire city dedicated to cars. Are the public transport network and traffic density a weakness for your application?

There will always be traffic in Los Angeles. But the city is changing. It is even currently the scene of a real renaissance. People’s mindset is changing. Young people are starting to want to settle downtown, where the artistic scene is developing and attracting a new audience. One of my friends, an athlete, recently admitted to me that he had sold his two cars and preferred to use public transportation! He lives in Venice. Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, insisted on the importance of the investments that were voted on last November to improve public transportation. Take the example of the LA Games in 1984. I was a volunteer, I was 12 years old, but I still have in my mind the memory of a city without traffic. People took the bus, it was great. Investments in transport will be made, with or without the Games. But having the Games in 2024 can speed up the movement. We want to leave a legacy, not only to the athletes, but also to the population.

How do you welcome the IOC's plan to hold a double vote for 2024-2028 in Lima in September?

To date, this question remains purely speculation. It is therefore not possible to answer a question on a double vote. We remain focused on 2024.

Nothing has been decided, of course, but the IOC has formed a working group to move forward on such a scenario...

Indeed. We are following all of this closely. But I don’t forget that I am a former athlete. But an athlete thinks above all about his next goal. For our team, the goal remains the Games in 2024.