Paris 2024 president speaks
Tony Estanguet, Paris 2024 president and a three-time Olympic gold medallist in Canoe slalom says: “France is often said to be the country of love. One thing I know is that here, when we love, we truly love. And between France and the Games, there has been a big love story.
“This love story was born nearly 130 years ago, just a few kilometers from here, in the main amphitheatre of the Sorbonne University, when Pierre de Coubertin proposed the rebirth of the ancient Olympic Games. And this love story grew, with the Games of Paris, of Chamonix, Grenoble and Albertville.
“Clearly carrying on this legacy is a huge responsibility. So, we have put out whole hearts into it. To love the Games is to court the Games for 100 years, for the chance to bring them back to Paris.
“When you’re madly in love with the Games, you feel like you can do anything. We have been bold, doing things that have never been done before, like having this Opening Ceremony in the city, for the first time in the history of the Olympic Games.
“Like every host country our ambition has been to help the Games grow stronger.”
