IOC President Thomas Bach attends final Paris 2024 board meeting before Olympics
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach was welcomed to the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee by its President, Tony Estanguet, on Monday. He attended the final meeting of the Paris 2024 Board of Directors before the Olympic Games.
The board members present included Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, President of the Ile de France Region Valerie Pecresse, French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera, and Patrick Ollier, President of the Greater Paris Metropolitan Area.
In a welcome to the Board members, with only 46 days remaining until the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, President Bach commended them for their organisational “creativity” and “efficiency,” consistently aligned with the reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020.
“Perhaps the most important quality you have is unity, which you have shown from the very beginning,” said Bach. “You have never politicised the Games, and you continue to organise these Games in the Olympic spirit to produce a festival of humanity.
“The expectations of the world are enormous, whether you speak to heads of state and government, or the people in the street, or with the athletes, there is one sentiment which is common for all the people: They are fed up with all the war and hate all round the world. Billions of people are considering these upcoming Olympic Games Paris 2024 to be a symbol of unity,” he added.
Earlier in the day, the IOC President paid a visit to a school in Paris where students had established their own Olympic museum and integrated many of their lessons around the forthcoming Olympic Games. Accompanied by Tony Estanguet, the Mayor of Paris, and the Sports Minister, they were treated to an Olympic song composed and performed by pupils at the Epinettes School in the 17th arrondissement of the capital.
During their time at the school, they witnessed the enthusiasm of the children, their deep involvement in various activities such as designing, participating in workshops, and engaging in sports activities. This demonstrated their dedication to the Olympic values and the new Olympic motto, which incorporates the word “Together,” a central theme in many of their endeavors.