Jean-Baptiste Sarrazin
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8:01 p.m., March 02, 2023
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games begin in more than a year, but the organizers are already busy with the task like Jean-François Lamour, vice-president of the group which owns the U Arena of Nanterre, where the swimming events will be held . Guest of the “Décideurs du Sport”, the former minister returned to the organization of this event.
It happens behind the scenes. 17 months before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, it’s time for the organizers to prepare. And among them, Jean-François Lamour, now vice-president of Valdo, the group that owns the Paris La Défense Arena which will host the swimming events for this world event. Guest of Céline Géraud and Jacques Vendroux in Sport Decision Makersthe former sports minister expressed his impatience just over a year before the start of the Olympics.
“It’s going to be an extraordinary moment, but it takes a lot of preparation. We’re already there,” said the double Olympic saber champion. Two Olympic pools will be temporarily installed on the lawn of the U Arena. “Another will be at the foot of the Stade de France. They will then be dismantled and rebuilt in Seine-Saint-Denis”, insisted on specifying the flag bearer of the French delegation to the 1992 Olympic Games. The legacy of these Games is thus an important issue for organizers. “It will allow the kids in the department to learn to swim after the Games”, welcomed Jean-François Lamour.
“Everything is more expensive than expected”
Making these Games a popular event is therefore the objective of the organizers. Inclusion, a problem close to the heart of Jean-François Lamour who nevertheless understands the current controversy concerning the price of tickets to attend the events. “It’s tense in terms of the calendar, since everything is complex, everything is more expensive than expected. We have organized ourselves, it’s tense, it’s complex, but it will make for magnificent Games”, defended himself. the former Olympic champion.
For Jean-François Lamour, “everyone learns by walking because there are specificities that the Paris Games cannot reproduce compared to what was done in London or Tokyo”. But these Games are a “great experience. The fact of being able to participate in this organization is something very, very important to me. I really put all my determination into it”, he explained in Sport Decision Makers. More than ten million people are expected for the 2024 Olympics, a major event that will propel Paris to the forefront of the international scene for two weeks.