This Tuesday, February 18, at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon, the launch of the French Alps 2030 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee (COJOP) took place. In the presence of several sports personalities, Edgar Grospiron, president of the committee, announces his ambitions.
It’s the 4th time that France hosts the Winter Olympics: there was Chamonix in 1924, Grenoble in 1968 and Albertville in 1992. In 2030, these Games will take place in the French Alps, and Nice will host sports events such as hockey, figure skating, short-track, and curling.
The Words of Different Personalities
Michel Barnier, former Prime Minister, started the ceremony by saying: “Seeing the success of the Paris 2024 Olympics, we intend to replicate that for Alps 2030.” He emphasizes organizing the work in a structured manner with local elected officials in a context of budgetary restraint and demands due to climate change. David Lappartient, president of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, followed him at the microphone: “There were many candidate countries, but it’s France that won again. We are the cradle of the Winter Olympics, it is here that they were born. We will rise to this challenge.” He continues: “Together, we are going to succeed in hosting great Olympic Games. We have the most beautiful mountains in the world.”
Renaud Muselier, president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region, speaks and announces with a chuckle: “We have now chosen our leader: Edgar Grospiron, the boss of the bosses, who now becomes the lord of the rings.” He continues tactfully: “These Games should show what we aim for in the face of climate change, to forge a consensus on the path taken. We need to show the world that our mountains are alive and will remain so.”
“We will come out of it with pride”
The atmosphere of this conference is humorous. The last to speak is, of course, Edgar Grospiron. “The challenge ahead of me is like a long field of bumps. So we’ll need to have strong knees. Don’t worry, I’m used to it,” jokes Edgar Grospiron. “The bump is never the problem, but perhaps the opportunity. We will encounter bumps, but our mission will be to overcome them, to face them. The bigger the obstacle, the more beautiful the opportunity behind it, and that’s what we are going to tackle together with the organizing committee,” he assures.
The former athlete cannot contain his emotions when recounting: “It’s incredible what’s happening since I got the news. Many stakeholders did everything to bring the Games here, and now my mission is to organize them.” More than a personal goal, but a project of a lifetime awaits the former Olympic medalist. “These Olympics are part of a challenge that surpasses them, in a whole that joins my vision of the mountains in the face of the climate challenge, the decrease of the snow cover,” he admits. “We must have a vision that accompanies the transition of the French mountains. The Games must be a catalyst for this. If we achieve this, we will come out of it with pride,” he concludes.