Svein Arne Hansen is not a member of the International Olympic Committee. Too bad for Paris 2024. The Norwegian leader, former director of the legendary Bislett meeting in Oslo, “only” officiates as president of the European Athletics Association.
He will therefore not vote, on September 13, 2017 in Lima, when the IOC general assembly must choose between Los Angeles and Paris as the host city of the Summer Games in 2024. Otherwise, his vote could already be counted definitely in the French camp.
Svein Arne Hansen (photo below) announced it very officially, Wednesday May 3, via a press release from the European Athletics Association (AEA) sent to the media: “I am very happy, both personally and on behalf of the AEA, to give my full support to Paris's candidacy for the 2024 Games.
In itself, the Norwegian's announcement is not decisive. Svein Arne Hansen does not belong to the IOC. The AEA is not the IAAF. Its influence remains continental. The position of its president will not upset the course of history. However, the press release from the European Athletics Association is not trivial. For at least two reasons.
The first is cultural. In a world as quiet as the international Olympic movement, it is rare to hear a high-ranking leader openly express his choice for a candidate city for the Games. And even rarer that he does it in the name of his organization. At the last SportAccord Convention, at the beginning of April 2017 in Aarhus, where the teams from Los Angeles and Paris presented their file and their vision before the international federations, neutrality was essential. When asked about the 2024 Games, all the IF presidents interviewed threw in the towel, skillfully refraining from letting the slightest preference show.
The second reason is due to the explanations of Svein Arne Hansen. The president of European athletics specifies in his press release that the AEA has studied the application files of the two competing cities. “And we think that Paris is the best, from a general point of view, and more specifically with regard to our sport,” suggests the Norwegian.
The message is clear. For European athletics and for its president, the balance leans towards Paris. “It’s not just because Paris is the only European bid, and continental sports organizations should support each other,” insists Svein Arne Hansen. The Scandinavian leader points out the technical aspects of the Parisian file. He suggests that athletics would be at the heart of the Games – “the central point” – if the French bid were to win. He says he is impressed by the Paris 2024 commitment to sustainable development, “a very important subject for the AEA”.
Finally, Svein Arne Hansen explains that the Games in 2024 in Paris would constitute an ideal extension of the 2020 European Championships, awarded last weekend by the AEA to the French capital. “These 2020 European Championships in Paris would provide a fantastic opportunity for French organizers to set their pace in many areas, four years before the city hosts the world’s premier sporting event.”
The support of the AEA and its president comes a week after the call in favor of Paris 2024 from another organization, with much more political contours. At the end of April, the 36th session of the Conference of Ministers of Youth and Sports of the Francophonie (Confejes), organized in Cotonou, Benin, very officially expressed its support for the French candidacy. With 43 states and governments, the Confejes explained in a press release “to mark its support and commitment to the promotion of the Paris 2024 candidacy through the unanimous adoption of a resolution of support in favor of this candidacy French-speaking.”
