For Emmanuel Macron, the “Games must finance the Games”. “There will be no Olympics tax” linked to the Paris 2024 Games, assured the Head of State in a newspaper interview The Team of Tuesday.
The President of the Republic has also indicated that the State “will buy 400,000 tickets” on the occasion of the Olympic Games-2024 (July 26 – August 11) “which he will distribute to young people and schoolchildren, especially those under 16 years old. “, but also – among others – to “volunteers who contribute to the Games and to sport in France”. In all, 10 million tickets will be on sale for the Olympic Games and nearly 3.4 million for the Paralympic Games in Paris, according to the organizers’ website.
The “popular ticket office” mentioned by the President will also be intended “for people with disabilities, their caregivers and state and community officials who help with these Games, particularly categories B and C”, specified the Head of State who convened an Olympic Council on Monday.
Ministerial meeting
Nearly a dozen ministers took part in this Olympic oral for more than two hours at the Elysée. From Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, to the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, to that of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, of National Education Pap Ndiaye or even of Sports Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, all presented their Olympic agenda.
The purpose of this “site meeting” was both to review all the files relating to the Olympics, but also to sign the mobilization at all levels of the State.
On the subject of the budget for the Olympic Games – which has crystallized a number of concerns in recent months, in particular because of the inflation mainly resulting from the conflict in Ukraine – Emmanuel Macron underlined in the interview with The Team “that there are solutions to meet them and that there are no excesses in our costs”. “In this context, I reaffirmed a simple principle: there will be no Olympic Games tax. The Games must fund the Games,” he insisted.
IOC budget of 4 billion
Discussions between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (Cojo), whose budget of 4 billion is almost entirely financed by private revenue, to try to identify ways of saving had already been started. a few weeks ago.
The organizers, whose budget is guaranteed by the State, must withstand the inflationary shock, and are carrying out a budget review this year.
Regarding the “popular ticket office”, Emmanuel Macron explained that this “will aim to facilitate access to sport and to allow those who have contributed to the influence of the Games to access competitions, where they do not might not have been able to afford them”.