President Thomas Bach received by President Emmanuel Macron in Paris
The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, was today received by the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, at the Palais de L’Elysée, in Paris. During a fruitful meeting the two men addressed the issue of the new challenge being faced in organising the Olympic Games in a post-coronavirus world. “President Emmanuel Macron and I spoke about the importance of sport and sporting activity during and after this unprecedented health crisis that the world continues to face,” declared President Bach at the end of the meeting.
President Bach also reminded the French President of the IOC’s ambitions with respect to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. “Sustainability is one of the pillars of the reform programmes of the IOC, which is also a carbon neutral organisation,” underlined Bach. “This highly positive meeting was an opportunity to share with President Macron the IOC’s initiative to explore with the Paris 2024 Organising Committee the possibility of staging climate-positive Olympic Games in 2024. The French President also gave his support in this respect,” said President Bach.
The two men also discussed the project to adapt the Olympic Games to the post-coronavirus world by taking a simplified approach while respecting the planned budget and preserving the message and values conveyed by the Olympic Games.
President Macron also praised the power of the Olympic Games to unite the whole world while respecting political neutrality.
The IOC President was accompanied at the Palais de L’Elysée by Tony Estanguet, President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games Paris 2024, and by Christophe De Kepper, the IOC Director General.