Paris bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics

Bids for the
2008 (2008) Summer Olympics Overview

Games of the XXIX Olympiad
Winner: Beijing
Runner-up: Toronto
Shortlist: Paris · Istanbul · Osaka
Details
City| Paris, France
NOC| French Olympic Committee
Previous Games hosted
1900 Summer Olympics, 1924 Summer Olympics[1]
Previously bid in 1992[2]
Decision
Result| Third place

Paris 2008 was an unsuccessful bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics by the city of Paris and the French Olympic Committee. Paris previously hosted the 1900 Summer Olympics and the 1924 Summer Olympics.[3] The bid made it to the final IOC vote, with Osaka being eliminated in the first round, but gained only 18 votes to Istanbul's 9, Toronto's 22 and Beijing's 56.[4][5]

## Bid process

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### Application

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The French bid was first launched in 1998 after Jacques Chirac confirmed Paris' application.[6] It was reported that up to 80% of the French population supported hosting the Games.[7] The bid also had the support of the City of Paris, the Ile-de-France region, the French government and the French Olympic Committee.[8] The Paris bid was judged to have "one of the most powerful ... public rail transport systems". The bid's proposed extensions and improvements "would fit in particularly well ... to the proposed Games concept."[9]

Table entries in bold denote criteria where the Paris bid was the highest rated of all the candidate cities

Paris 2008 application evaluation[10]

Criterion  | Minimum grade | Maximum grade
Government support and public opinion | 6.7 | 6.7
General infrastructure | 7.6 | 8.5
Sports infrastructure | 7.2 | 8.5
Olympic Village | 7.2 | 8.7
Environmental impact | 7.0 | 8.0
Accommodation | 10.0 | 10.0
Transport links | 7.7 | 9.0
Security | 7.0 | 8.4
Experience | 8.5 | 9.5
Games Concept | 8.0 | 9.0

### Candidacy

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Paris was accepted as a candidate city in August 2000.[11] In March 2001, the IOC Evaluation Commission travelled to Paris to assess the French bid.[12]

The host of the 2008 Games was chosen at the 112th IOC Session on 13 July 2001 in Moscow.[13] Results from the two rounds of voting were as follows:[14]

2008 Host City Election — ballot results

City  | Country (NOC)  | Round 1 | Round 2
Beijing |  China | 44 | 56
Toronto |  Canada | 20 | 22
Paris |  France | 15 | 18
Istanbul |  Turkey | 17 | 9
Osaka |  Japan | 6 | —

## Venues

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According to organisers, more than 60% of the needed venues already existed in Paris.[15][16]

### Sporting venues

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39 competition venues were planned. In Paris, these included:[17] Venues in italics were planned to be built, should the bid be successful.[18]

* Stade de France for athletics and football.
* La Courneuve for shooting.
* Aubervilliers velodrome for track cycling.
* Puiseux-en-France Baseball and Softball centre for baseball and softball.
* Boulevard des Sports for badminton, basketball, handball, gymnastics and swimming.
* Grand Palais for fencing.
* Champs de Mars for beach volleyball.
* Esplanade des Invalides for the pentathlon, dressage and show jumping.
* Bois de Boulogne:
* Longchamp and Auteuil racecourses for 3-day equestrian events.
* Longchamp tracks for road cycling.
* Château de la Muette lawns for triathlon.
* Château de Bagatelle lawns for archery.
* Parc André Citroën volleyball hall for volleyball.

* Parc de Saint-Cloud for mountain biking.
* Stade Jean-Bouin for hockey.
* Parc des Princes stadium for football.
* Stade Roland Garros for tennis.
* Stade Pierre de Coubertin for volleyball and taekwondo.
* Palais des Sports for weightlifting.
* ParisExpo for boxing and wrestling
* Vaires-sur-Marne basin for rowing and canoeing and kayaking.
* Carpentier Hall for table tennis.
* Paris-Bercy Multisports Complex for judo and volleyball.
* Créteil Olympic pool for water polo.
* Stade Sébastien Charléty for football.
* Stade Pershing for baseball.

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### Olympic Village

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The planned Olympic Village had a total capacity of 17,300 beds but was criticised in the Candidate City report for having some planning issues.[19]

## Bid legacy

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After the 2001 IOC vote in Moscow, French President Jacques Chirac said that although he regretted that Paris' bid had failed, he had not given up hope for a future Olympic bid.[20] The chief executive of the Paris 2012 bid, Philippe Baudillon, later said that the 2008 bid was too "technical and French".[21] After bidding for the 2012 Summer Olympics and losing out to London, in 2017 Paris bid for and was awarded the 2024 Summer Olympics.[22]

## See also

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* Olympics portal
* France portal

* France at the Olympics

## References

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1. ^ Abrahamson, Alan (1 July 2001). "Bidding Its Time". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
2. ^ Zinser, Lynn (7 June 2005). "I.O.C. Praises Paris's Bid; New York's Is in Disarray". New York Times. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
3. ^ Dr Geoff Walters (September 2008). "Bidding for Major Sporting Events: Key Issues and Challenges faced by Sports Governing Bodies in the UK" (PDF). Birkbeck Sports Business Centre. Birkbeck, University of London. p. 46. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
4. ^ Longman, Jere (14 July 2001). "OLYMPICS; Beijing Wins Bid for 2008 Olympic Games". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
5. ^ "Beijing handed Olympic Games". BBC Sport. 13 July 2001. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
6. ^ "Olympics: Paris makes bid for 2008 Olympics". The Independent. 9 December 1998. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
7. ^ "2008 Olympic bids". The Telegraph. 10 May 2001. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
8. ^ "IOC Candidature Acceptance Working Group for the XXIX Olympiad 2008" (PDF). Olympic.org. 18 August 2000. p. 15\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
9. ^ "IOC Candidature Acceptance Working Group for the XXIX Olympiad 2008" (PDF). Olympic.org. 18 August 2000. p. 21\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
10. ^ "IOC Candidature Acceptance Working Group for the XXIX Olympiad 2008" (PDF). Olympic.org. 18 August 2000. pp. 16, 23, 31, 36, 40, 45, 53, 56, 59. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
11. ^ "IOC Candidature Acceptance Working Group for the XXIX Olympiad 2008" (PDF). Olympic.org. 18 August 2000. p. 64\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
12. ^ "Bid Archives". GamesBids. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
13. ^ "112TH IOC SESSION IN MOSCOW - INFORMATION FOR THE MEDIA". Olympic.org. 29 June 2001. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
14. ^ "Beijing 2008: Election". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 5 December 2006. Retrieved 2006-12-18.
15. ^ "All eyes on Games vote". CNN. 13 July 2001. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
16. ^ "Paris 2008 Olympic Bid Volume 2 Part 1". issuu. p. 13. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
17. ^ "Paris 2008 Olympic Bid Volume 2 Part 1". issuu. pp. 16–17. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
18. ^ "Paris 2008 Olympic Bid Volume 2 Part 1". issuu. p. 23. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
19. ^ "Report of the IOC Evaluation Commission for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in 2008" (PDF). Olympic.org. 3 April 2001. p. 32\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 November 2006. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
20. ^ "Mixed reaction to Beijing 2008 win". CNN. 14 July 2001. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
21. ^ Simon Kuper (10 November 2004). "Paris bids for the love of the Games". Financial Times. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
22. ^ "'Wow, it's magic' - Paris and LA react to successful Olympic bids". BBC. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2020.

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France bids for the Olympic Games

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Paris|

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Winter|

| Other|

* Chamonix 1924
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