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Paris
Hopes To Add Another City Light
October
2, 2000
Paris,
the city of lights, hopes to add another light in 2008 - the Olympic
torch.
Paris
is one of the five candidate cities vying to host the 2008 Summer
Games.
Paris’
bid promotes a balanced environment within urban areas, since the
new venues in Paris are all in an urban and industrial zone around
the Stade de France. The
city plans to rezone and build an urban environment, which will
include efficient and non-polluting transportation.
If
Paris wins the 2008 bid, the venues, housing, and transportation
systems to be built for the Games will help the French make headway
in the environmental challenges of today’s urban areas.
The
crown jewel of Paris’ bid is the Stade de France.
After it is renovated, track and field events will be held
there. The stadium was inaugurated on January 28, 1998 and is
located 1.5 km to the north of Paris in the Plaine Saint-Denis area.
It was designed to host the 16th World Soccer Cup.
The
stadium can accommodate up to 100,000 spectators, and 75,000 fans
can be seated for athletic events.
It’s situated on a 17-hectare site and has four public
parking lots for 5000 cars, two restaurants and large exhibition
areas.
The
Olympic village will be located in the Plaine Saint-Denis, a large
industrial sector between the Paris beltway, a railway network and a
canal. The area has an
excellent transportation system and has been the focus of in-depth
studies and an urban project, which includes the State, the region
and neighbouring cities.
There
are plans to improve transportation in the area with the extension
of the metro, a tramway and the launch of the first phase for the
Evangile station on the RER E line.
Swimming
events are to be held in two separate venues, a nautical stadium and
a nautical centre. The
nautical venue will be built on the grounds of a former hospital and
will host swimming, synchronized swimming and diving.
It will have 15,000 seats, which will be reduced to between
5,000 and 7,000 seats after the Olympics.
The nautical centre for men’s and women’s water polo
events will have a seating capacity of 5,000, which can be reduced
to 2,000 seats.
The
nautical stadium will feature a two-metre deep pool for swimming and
synchronized swimming, and an adjacent warm-up pool.
A five metre deep pool will be built for diving along with a
warm-up pool, and a warm-up room.
Synchronized swimming, diving and water polo events will each
have seating for 5,000 people.
If
Paris hosts the Games, sailing and windsurfing events will be held
at La Rochelle.
The
Palais omnisport de Paris-Bercy, in the south east of Paris, is one
of the key assets Paris has in its quest for the Games.
Because of the height of the ceiling, it can easily host
gymnastics, judo, boxing, trampoline, and table tennis.
Seating at the Palais omnisport de Paris Bercy can be
configurated according to the event. There are 7,000 seats for cycling, 8,500 for running events,
14,000 for tennis and 17,000 for boxing.
Some
of the features of the venue include a fixed seven-metre wide cyclic
track with a 250 meter development area, a six-lane track (which can
be set up and taken apart) measuring 200 metres, and a central arena
with a 90 x 50 metre ellips, including a permanent structure for a
60 x 30 metre rink.
The
Parc des Princes soccer stadium is in the south-west of Paris,
overlooking the beltway. The
stadium is a natural choice for the soccer competition, but it would
have to be refurbished if Paris gets the 2008 Games.
According
to Paris’ Web site, the collaboration of the City of Paris with
the Ile-de-France region, the French Ministry of Youth and Sports
and the French Olympic Committee to host the 2008 Summer Games bears
testimony to making the city of Paris the place to celebrate Olympic
values, and unites Parisians and the French, around the world’s
athletes.
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