Paris 2024 selects Marseille as proposed Olympic Sailing venue

Rob Fawdon from Paris, France; Sept 7, 2015: The Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Bid Committee today announced that Marseille will be the destination where Sailing competitions will be held should the French capital be selected as the Host City of the Games in 2024.

The selection of Marseille as the host venue for Sailing was made by the board members of Paris 2024 based on analysis conducted by an evaluation committee comprising representatives from the French Sailing Federation, a delegation of Sailing athletes, members of the French National Olympic Committee and additional Sailing technical experts.

Six cities had submitted applications to host the Sailing competition and, following site visits to each destination, they were reviewed against set sporting, technical, economic, tourism and sustainability criteria.

Paris 2024 confirmed that Marseille was chosen as the potential host for Olympic Sailing for a number of key reasons, including:

 The region’s world-renowned marine environment and its iconic, beautiful setting that would provide ideal conditions for competitive Sailing and create stunning sporting images for live and broadcast audiences;
 The city’s extensive experience hosting major international events;
 The accessibility of the area which would make it easy to reach for Sailing fans from across France and international destinations;
 Proposing an innovative and technically excellent event plan with a compact venue concept that will minimise infrastructure and operational costs – in line with the Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms that seek to reduce Games budgets;
 The accommodation capacity in Marseille and the surrounding regions;
 The opportunity to spread the proposed 2024 Games venues to differing regions of France to fully engage Olympic fans in every part of the country and the significant international tourist population who visit Marseille;
 The spectacular spectator experience Sailing fans would enjoy on the coastline as the public will be very close to the sporting action – a key requirement set out by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) for major Sailing events.

Marseille’s proposal additionally had a strong focus on delivering a positive legacy for the area’s local community, which includes a commitment to renovate and extend the Roucas Blanc marina. The city will also help increase local interest in Sailing and stimulate the further growth and appeal of the sport around the world by showcasing events in an amazing seascape – boosting live attendance and TV figures and creating new Sailing fans and participants.

If Paris is successful in its 2024 bid then after the Games Marseille will continue its positive legacy efforts by training the next generation of Sailing athletes. It is committed to hosting future major nautical events and it will establish an international Sailing centre where national teams from emerging Sailing nations are invited for athlete, coaching and referee training sessions. This will enable developing Sailing teams to enhance their skills and provide them with access to state-of-the-art equipment and bespoke training programmes – in partnership with ISAF and the French Sailing Federation.

Bernard Lapasset, President of Paris 2024, said:

“I would like to congratulate Marseille on their selection as the possible venue for Sailing if Paris has the honour of hosting the Games in 2024. The city was chosen after a rigorous review process and Marseille presented a first class project that showed they have the high-level technical experience and expertise to deliver a fantastic Olympic Sailing event. My thanks also go out to the other bidders who all submitted excellent applications.

“Paris 2024 believes that Olympic Sailing in Marseille would be a truly wonderful occasion for athletes, Sailing and general sports fans, the Olympic Family and for the millions of television and online viewers across world who can tune in to see world class Sailing action in front of a beautiful Mediterranean backdrop. We want to help accelerate the growth of Sailing around France and the rest of the world and we think the dynamic setting in Marseille will produce excellent sporting action that will help to achieve this ambition.”

Tony Estanguet, IOC Member in France and three-time Olympic Gold Medallist, said:

“The aim for Paris 2024 is to create a winning campaign and the choice of Marseille as the proposed Olympic Sailing venue strengthens the bid. Marseille would be a fantastic setting for the Olympic Sailing action and the venue meets all of the necessary criteria to ensure that the stage is set for the athletes to deliver first-class performances during what would be a showcase moment should Paris be selected to host the Games in 2024.”