The decision on the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games took a distinctly political turn when French President Jacques Chirac decided to travel to Singapore to defend Paris’s candidacy ahead of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) vote.
There, he will be going head to head against British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had decided much earlier to attend the crucial IOC meeting to promote London’s bid.
The two cities are widely considered favourites to host the 2012 Games, and the confrontation between the two leaders is being seen as another chapter in their long-standing political feud.
That feud began in 2002 with a disagreement over European farm subsidies, continued the following year when they disagreed sharply over the war in Iraq, and is now at fast boil over the European Union budget.
Although the race remains close and bookmakers have shortened the odds on London winning, Paris and Chirac still appear to have the edge.
The city’s bid received the top note of ”very high quality” from the IOC evaluation commission, with its security aspects and environmental features particularly praised.
The IOC evaluation commission described its budget for the Games of $2,65-billion as ”detailed, well documented and achievable”, and said its accommodation plan is ”excellent”.
Under that plan, more than 52 000 hotel beds are guaranteed in central Paris, and another 140 000 within a radius of 50km.
The IOC also had good words for the French capital’s infrastructure, calling its road and rail system ”high capacity and quality”.
The French bid has placed special emphasis on its environment-friendly elements, and the commission said that holding the Games in Paris ”would provide significant ecological and social legacies in Paris and across France”.
The compact Paris Olympics would be based on two clusters — one north of the centre and another in the west — with the Olympic village located 10km from each of the competition centres.
Of the 32 venues, 12 are ready.
The bid has received widespread support, both at home and abroad. About 85% of Paris residents say they are in favour of holding the 2012 Games in the city; the support across France is only slightly lower.
The Paris bid has received support from a large number of international athletes and personalities, such as Chinese 110m Olympics champion Liu Xang, American triathlon legend Mark Allen, Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake and Canadian pop diva Celine Dion.
Dion even donated her recording of the song A Paris (To Paris) to the city in support of its bid.
The city’s candidature is threatened by only one dark cloud.
When the IOC visited Paris in March, unions representing the city’s transport workers went on strike, preventing the commission from visiting many of the Olympics sites by metro or bus.
Unions have vowed that they are wholeheartedly behind the bid, but fear of strike action at the height of the Olympics may still gnaw at IOC members.
But that is a small caveat. Most Parisians believe the city deserves the Games, especially after the disappointment of losing the 2008 Olympics to Beijing, and they expect to be partying long into the night on July 6. — Sapa-DPA