PARIS: Leaders of the Paris bid for the 2024 Olympics secured a 2 million euros ($2.2 million) sponsorship deal Thursday with the operator of France’s national lottery.
Francaise des Jeux became the first company to support the bid, which is competing with Budapest, Rome and Los Angeles for the games. The International Olympic Committee will choose the host city in September 2017.
Paris bid co-president Bernard Lapasset said the agreement with the lottery operator is the first of a series of deals to be announced in the coming months.
“We are very proud today to take part to this extraordinary campaign which is about to start thanks to the support of the first Paris 2024 sponsor,” Lapasset said at a news conference. “That gives us appetite and desire.”
The cost of the bid has been estimated at about 60 million euros ($65 million), with the major part of the budget to be raised through private funding. If Paris is awarded the Olympics, the infrastructure budget for hosting the games is expected to reach 3 billion euros ($4.5 billion), with operational costs of 3.2 billion euros ($4.8 billion).
Paris last hosted the Olympics in 1924.
FDJ CEO Stephane Pallez said a lottery scratch card game promoting the bid will be launched in 2017 by and could help fund the candidacy.
“If it works well, we will donate part of the game’s income to the bid,” she said. “It’s not included in the 2 million and could help us make more than 2 million.”
To help finance the Paris bid, the French national Olympic committee also devised a crowd funding scheme dubbed “Je reve des Jeux” (I dream of the games) that has so far produced limited results, raising 630,314 euros ($680,000) since its launch last September.
Lapasset said the French committee is looking at ways of improving the promotion campaign that includes the sale of 2 euro ($2.25) wristbands, but insisted the bid is not relying on the money raised from that effort.
“This is not an element that has been included in the budget,” Lapasset said. “It’s just a little extra.”
Paris 2024 Olympic bid secures $2 million sponsorship deal
Paris 2024 Olympic bid secures $2 million sponsorship deal
Filipino fans celebrate as favorites advance at Dubai Tennis Championships
- WTA 1000 event off to dramatic start as Kabayan community-loved duo Alexandra Eala and Leylah Fernandez thrill center court with contrasting victories
- Britain’s top-ranked female player Emma Raducanu takes on Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto in Monday’s action, with tickets still available
DUBAI: After weeks of anticipation, women’s week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship burst into life on the opening day as two favorites of the Filipino expatriate community progressed to the second round in front of capacity crowds.
Rising star Alexandra Eala — still only 20 and already the highest-ranked Filipino in WTA history at world No. 40 — lined up against powerful American Hailey Baptiste, the world No. 39.
Baptiste, having qualified for the match as a lucky loser after falling to Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova in Saturday’s final qualifiers, she nonetheless cut an imposing figure compared to the diminutive Eala, who is four years her junior and making her Dubai debut.
Yet with every corner of center court transformed by the red, white and blue of the Philippines flag, Eala immediately tapped into the energy with an array of crowd-pleasing winners as she railed against Baptiste’s power advantage.
After trading breaks early on, Eala buzzed around court and stole the momentum with a break of serve before nervelessly holding to seal the set 6-4.
Baptiste valiantly held serve in the opening game of the second set before Elea suddenly found herself advancing to the next round after the American retired with an abdominal injury.
An expectant crowd was stunned and fell silent, but noise levels soared back to deafening as the victor addressed center court. “No-one likes advancing in this way,” she said.
“Being on tour, I am starting to discover how difficult it is to maintain your health physically. I’m really hoping that Hailey will bounce back soon.”
Turning her attention and affections to her adoring fans, Eala added: “I’m super happy to be in the next round.
“This tournament is serving up such great experiences for me, especially playing in front of the best crowd ever. Hello everyone, hello Kabayans. I’m very happy to advance to the next round.”
Earlier in the afternoon, Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, the world No. 27, and Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova, ranked 10 places higher, played out an epic three-set showdown that lasted close to three hours.
After a tense first set in which Samsonova eventually prevailed 7-5, Fernandez — who boasts Filipino heritage — battled back in a knife-edge second set.
The 23-year-old unleashed a series of immaculate winners to sail into a 5-2 lead, before a resurgent Samsonova won three consecutive games to wrestle back momentum and level the set at 5-5.
The Russian’s mini comeback flattered to deceive however, as Fernandez held her serve and then immediately broke serve to clinch the set 7-5 and force a deciding set.
With Fernandez moving into a 2-0 lead in the early throes of the third set, Samsonova suddenly found herself holding two break points and a chance to regain her match footing.
Fernandez, buoyed by a partisan crowd that reveled in celebrating her Filipino ancestry, dug deep. Occasionally scurrying and battling to stay in points, she produced winners under pressure and benefited hugely as Samsonova’s unforced errors tallied up.
Brimming with confidence, Fernandez surged into a seemingly unassailable 5-0 lead in the third set, only for the never-say-die Samsonova to hit back with three quick games in a row.
Serving for the match for a second time, Fernandez regained her composure to hold serve and eliminate the 13th seed.
After signing dozens of autographs on caps, T-shirts, balls, souvenir programs, and anything frenzied fans could find for a signature, Fernandez was quick to acknowledge the acclaim she received from fans at the tournament.
“It definitely felt different tonight,” she said.
“I remember the past couple of years I’ve played day matches, sometimes first on, so there wasn’t a lot of fans. Today, there were a lot more and to see so many fans come watch women’s tennis means a lot, it shows the sport is growing, so I’m very happy.”
When asked if she feels a type of home advantage in Dubai, she added: “Yeah, actually, kind of. It does feel nice because you kind of feel at home. It helps a lot.
“Sometimes when you’re travelling so much you forget why you play tennis and fans always help you to remember. To feel that warmth, that love, and the passion that they have is a lot of fun.”
The final match of the night had the Czech Republic’s Sara Bejlek, ranked No. 38 in the world, needing only 75 minutes for a 6-2, 6-2 dismantling of Turkey’s Zeynep Sonmez.
Britain’s Emma Raducanu, another massive Dubai favorite, will face a first-round tie against Italian qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto on court two at 3 p.m.
