Rome bid proposes to use historic sites at 2024 Olympics

Rome has unveiled a package worth 5.3 billion euros (5.9 billion dollars) backing up its bid for the 2024 summer Olympic Games that includes plans to use historic sites such as the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus. Italian Olympic Committee president Giovanni Malago said the cycling, marathon, beach volleyball and archery competitions would be staged at Ancient Roman sites such as the avenue leading up to the Colosseum, the Imperial Fora and the Circus Maximus. Football matches would be played in 10 stadiums around the country, and Cagliari, in Sardinia, would host sailing events, Malago said, adding that Italian film composer Ennio Morricone would compose a Rome 2024 hymn. “We want to have the biggest sporting party ever organized,” organizing committee chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said at a launch event alongside Malago. He listed four buzzwords: “sport, ethics, competition, passion”. A proposed budget for the Rome games, billed as “low cost”, foresees spending 2.1 billion euros for permanent structures and 3.2 billion euros on temporary facilities, running costs and management. Organizers said only 30 per cent of facilities need to be built from scratch and they expected to recoup 3.2 billion euros from ticket sales, merchandising, IOC subsidies and sponsors. They predicted the creation of 177,000 jobs over the 2017-2023 period. Rome last hosted the summer Olympics in 1960 and bid backers hope to recreate some of the magic from that “Dolce Vita” era. But there is also widespread scepticism over the risk of corruption and overspending—a recurring problem with public works in Italy. A campaign, backed by smaller left-wing and anti-establishment parties, has called for a referendum on Rome’s bid. Last year the German city of Hamburg withdrew from the 2024 race after residents voted against staging the Games.