By Julien Pretot
PYLOS, Greece (Reuters) – The launch of preparations for the 2030 winter Olympics in the French Alps got off to a sluggish start amid political tensions, but the organising committee can benefit from the experience of Paris 2024 to make up for lost time.
Heavy favourite Martin Fourcade, France’s most successful Olympian, declined to take the organising committee president’s job, saying he did not want to sacrifice his convictions.
The 2030 Games will be held in two regions, Auvergne Rhone-Alpes and Provence Alpes Cote d’Azur, triggering tensions over control of the event, sources close to discussions about the event told Reuters.
Edgar Grospiron, the 1992 Olympic freestyle skiing champion, was named head of the organising committee but he has yet to appoint a general director and the Games are still without a logo.
Sports Minister Marie Barsacq said the experience of people involved in the 2024 Paris Olympics would help.
“I’m confident today because we have already worked on several items, shadowing the work with Edgar,” Barsacq, who served as Impact and Legacy executive director at Paris 2024, told reporters on Wednesday after a speech at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) session.
“As (Paris 2024 organising committee chief) Tony (Estanguet) said, Edgar has a clear vision about the project and he knows the issues.
“He talked a lot with Tony, but also the ex-CEO of Paris 2024, Etienne Thobois, and lots of different stakeholders. So he knows about the Games and all the frameworks he has to build. There are also some recruitments that are launched for directors, executive directors.
“There is also this great opportunity given by the IOC to have the ex-Paris 2024 team working for Alps 2030 … until the end of 2025 to launch the project on different items like human resources, budget, financial procedures, digital, but also the brand.”
Thobois was approached to become general director but sources told Reuters he declined twice, although he has said he would be ready to share his experience with the organising committee.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ed Osmond)
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