Annecy crosses its fingers for 2018 Winter Olympic bid

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will be gathering in the South African city of Durban on Wednesday to decide which city will host the 2018 Winter Games.

In the running still are three bids; Pyeongchang in South Korea, Munich in Germany and Annecy , the picturesque "Venice of the Alps" in the Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France.

(screenshot from official video)

The French candidature has been beset by problems, not least of which was the resignation in December 2010 of the president of its bid committee, former Olympic medallist Edgar Grospiron, because he feared the city couldn't stump up enough money to be successful in securing the games.

A replacement was eventually found in the form of French businessman Charles Beigbeder who remains upbeat about Annecy's chances even though most pundits rank them as pretty slim.

"Anything is possible," Beigbeder told Europe 1 radio on Wednesday morning.


"There are still three candidates in the running and the president of the IOC, Jacques Rogues, has said that they're all strong bids," he continued.

"Hosting the games is not just about business," he said.

"The Games is an opportunity for the Olympic movement to fulfil its mission of transmitting sporting values to the entire world."

Doesn't that sound like the speech of a man who reckons he's on the losing side?

As the weekly news magazine Le Point says, international leaders turning up at the final presentation in front of the IOC to support a bid has paid dividends in the past; Tony Blair for the 2012 London Olympic, Vladimir Poutin for the 2014 Winter Games in Sotchi and Lula (Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva) supporting Rio's 2016 Summer Games success.

The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has chosen to stay away from Wednesday's presentation, a move which the magazine says some (cynics) might interpret as not wanting to be associated with a "loser" ahead of next year's presidential election.

Nothing could be further from the truth as far as Beigbeder is concerned.

'The president has always supported our bid and has written to each member of the IOC personally - which is very rare," he said.

'The prime minister, François Fillon will be making part of the presentation and we're proud of the team we've built," he continued.

"We are confident, determined and humble because we know it'll be difficult. But anything is possible."

Bonne chance.

At least Annecy cannot lose to Qatar!


Carte-postale-sport par annecy-2018

Annecy Winter Olympics bid suffers a setback

Not all is well with the town of Annecy, that picturesque "Venice of the Alps" in the Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France.

Or at least not when it comes to its hopes for hosting the Winter Olympics in 2018.

Because on Sunday, Edgar Grospiron, the head of the bid committee, resigned.

Happier days when Edgar Grospiron was still "proud and enthusiastic" at being the head of the bid committee (screenshot from TV8 Mont-Blanc, February 2010)

His decision of course was all about money.

The former Olympic champion quit his post because as far as he was concerned, the €20 million budget simply wasn't enough.

“I cannot win the Games with the budget we have and in the time remaining,” he said.

"We have a lot of important things to do, but we just don't have the means to be competitive."

Ah yes.

Proof once again that when it comes to the Olympics - whether they're the Summer or Winter games - cash (along with lobbying) is arguably one of the most important factors.

Of course the French Olympic Committee (Le Comité national olympique et sportif français, CNOSF) attempted to play down what was undoubtedly a blow.

Its president, Denis Masseglia, said that a successor would be appointed within the next couple of days and Grospiron would still be helping out in an advisory role.

"We continue (our bid) with humility and authenticity," he said in what is surely just another way of admitting that he didn't really hold much hope of Annecy being chosen.

Mind you Masseglia's rather noble sentiment was one echoed by the newly appointed minister of sports, Chantal Jouanno, in an interview with the national daily Le Parisien.

She, of course, was disappointed in the wake of Grospiron's resignation, but also called for "commitment and dignity."

"The French are often their own worst enemies," she admitted.

"Now is the time to look forward rather than back and to roll up our sleeves," she continued, sounding more like a typical sports journalist with every word.

"Withdrawal isn't an option. We have to defend the image of France and follow through the bid to its end with dignity especially as its (Annecy's) bid isn't a bad one."

Her solution? Lobbying and communication.

Ah, that's the spirit. Time to stand up and sing La Marseillaise.

Somehow though the smart money (yep it's hard to get away from the "filthy lucre") is on the other two cities bidding to host the 2018 Games; fellow European rival Munich and South Korea's Pyeongchang, which is making its third consecutive attempt to host the Games.

The International Olympic Committee will select the host city at a meeting in Durban, South Africa, on July 6, 2011.

The last time France staged the Winter Games was in Albertville in 1992.

The CNOSF awarded Annecy the right to bid on behalf of France back in March last year and (to any reasonable thinking person) the town has been considered an outsider from the outset.

Hallelujah for the Olympic ideal!

Annecy to bid for Winter Olympics 2018 - in with a shout?

Well it could be after the decision by the French Olympic Committee (Comité National Olympique et Sportif Français, CNOSF) to support Annecy in its bid to host the Winter Olympic games in 2018.

The picturesque city dubbed "the Venice of the Alps" in the Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France, beat out rivals Grenoble, Nice and Pelvoux in the first round of voting on Tuesday and will now thrown its hat into the ring with some powerful international rivals.

They include the two front-runners Munich in Germany and the South Korean city of Pyeongchang, along with Almaty in Kazahkstan.

Those are the other cities that have so far declared their bids or confirmed their interest.

YouTube Video - Annecy 2018, official video

Annecy might still be an outside bet, but after yesterday's decision some here in France at least, are hopeful that it could spring a surprise.

Indeed it already has, to a great extent, in overcoming the much more-fancied Grenoble so easily.

"This bid has to be supported by the whole of the French sporting community," said the president of the CNOSF, Henri Sérandour, who'll be stepping down from his post in May.

"That's a message I want to pass on to my successor".

So what has Annecy got going for it?

First up it's undoubtedly beautifully situated and is chocolate-box pretty.

That in itself of course isn't enough to host such an event, but it's only 30 minutes away from the international airport of Geneva in Switzerland, and has a regular high-speed TGV link with the French capital, Paris.

So getting there shouldn't be a problem.

Asked on French national television why he thought Annecy had been successful in convincing the CNOSF to support the city's candidature, Antoine Dénériaz, French downhill gold medallist at the Games in Turin in 2006, said much of it was down to the make-up of team which had put together the bid.

"The principle reason for its success so far has been that the bid was led by sportsmen and women, with the support of the mayor (himself a former sports champion) and add to that of course we've already played host to a number of international sporting events," he said.

It's true, Annecy has held international ice skating events, already has an excellent infrastructure in place with three major ski resorts nearby, including Chamonix, but will that be enough to see out the might of the Pyeongchang, widely fancied to be the favourite?

It'll be a tough job according to Jean-Claude Killy, the triple Olympic champion in Alpine skiing who dominated the sport in the late 1960s and is probably one of this country's best known sportsmen.

"South Korea has already bid to host the Games twice," he said.

"This'll be the third time, and I'm not going to pretend that it'll be extremely difficult."

But that didn't stop the good folk of Annecy - or Annéciens and Annéciennes - from celebrating the first step in what promises to be a very long journey.

The official application deadline will close in October this year and by next July the successful candidate cities will be selected.

There will then follow the process of evaluation - technical and otherwise - before the International Olympic Committee officially announces the "winner" in July 2011 in Durban, South Africa.

"Personally I believe very strongly that we can win the bid, said Dénériaz.

"We have an extraordinary international symbol with the Mont Blanc....the adventure continues and it'll be something exceptional and of course now we'll be helped by the French Olympic Committee".

Any tips Vancouver?