Within a few hours, an official delegation from Paris 2012 will fly to Accra, Ghana, to present to the 53 members of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) the vision behind the Paris bid to bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games to France.
This delegation is led by Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris and President of Paris 2012, and also includes Henri Sérandour, President of the French National Olympic Committee; Jean-Claude Killy, French member of the International Olympic Committee; Philippe Baudillon, Paris 2012 C.E.O. and Armand de Rendinger, Director of the Paris 2012 International Promotion.
Twenty-one days before the vote by the International Olympic Committee, it is a true sportive, cultural and artistic boost from the whole Africa that will lead the Paris 2012 team in front of the ANOCA.
The French Olympic project represents a new step in the historic relations that unite sportive, cultural and artistic communities in Africa and France, as evidenced by the outpouring of support for Paris 2012 from noted African athletes, artists and political figures.
The famous Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour, who has actively supported the French Bid for several months, declared: “Paris is the historical cradle of Olympics values: humanism, universality, and fraternity. In the beginning of the third millennium, Paris will be the perfect host for a Games of cultural diversity. I am proud to support the Paris bid!”
Algerian athlete Djabir Said Guerni explained his Love of the Games: “I support Paris 2012 in order to share our common passion: sport, the Games and Love!”
In Niger, the fashion designer Alphadi expressed his enthusiasm: “Paris, Capital of culture, Paris, city of light! The Olympic Fest will be magic! I love Paris!”
In Benin, the singer Angélique Kidjo commented that: “Sport, as music, gather people together. My heart beats for Paris!”
The arrival of the Paris 2012 team will be greeted by a new initiative marking the dynamism of the athletic cooperation between Africa and France. Two Kenyan Kayakers, Titus Murithi Mukumti and Dominic Watti, are prepared to join the Canoe Club of Foix, where they will train during the months of June and July. The two athletes will be participating as part of the slalom canoeing international development programme organized by the International Canoe Federation, “Beijing and Beyond”, which encourages countries to engage competitors in the qualifications for the Olympic Games. France is one of the leading countries of this development programme.
Also, while the Paris 2012 delegation is in Africa, the French National Rugby Team is scheduled to play in South Africa against the “Springboks” on June 18 and 25. The evening before the first match, representatives of the French national team will meet at the Alliance Française in Durban with the South African rugby legend Nick Mallett, an ambassador of Paris 2012, to express jointly their support for the Paris Bid.
Aside from a shared enthusiasm for sport, a roadshow exhibition focusing on France and the Olympics has also contributed to a better understanding of the Paris 2012 Bid in Africa. Developed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, since April, this cultural initiative has made its way through more than 20 countries, including Kenya, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Cameroon and Senegal. From June 10th to July 1st, the exhibition will make stops in Tunisia and in South Africa. Paris 2012 supporters in these countries, and notably the South African singer Miriam Makeba, will have the opportunity during the exhibition to reaffirm their enthusiasm of L’Amour des Jeux, and for the Olympic values common to communities within Africa and France.
Philippe Baudillon, Paris 2012 C.E.O., declared: “It is with a great deal of emotion and pride, in the light of the deep and historical relations which unite France to Africa, that we are about to present our project to the ANOCA members. The Games which we wish to organize in Paris will help our relationships grow, further enriching our ties based on common cultural and sport interests. When presenting our project to the African Olympic Movement, we will be driven by an ambition and a dream — an ambition to convey our thoughts about the quality of our Bid, and a dream that our emphasis on simple,compact and passionate proposal for the Games, may one day inspire and initiate new Olympic bids in Africa, to the benefit of the entire sports movement”.
-Notes to editors:
The Club des ambassadeurs de Paris 2012
Officially created in January 2005, the Club des ambassadeurs de Paris 2012 has gathered together celebrities from all over the world who, because they have significant relationships with France or Paris, wish to contribute personally to the project.
In Africa, Paris 2012 ambassadors represent 13 countries. They come from the arts, culture, media and sport worlds as well as political and economic communities:
South Africa : Miriam Makeba, singer; Nick Mallett, rugbyman; Gary Ralfe, DGA of de Beers Group, President Diamond Trading; Tutu Skweyiya, former Ambassador in France; and Professor Ben Turok, member of the Parliament, A.C.N Deputy.
Algeria : Mina Chouikh, TV director and producer; Mohamed Chouikh, film director; Reda Hamiani, industrialist and former Minister; Slim Othmani, industrialist; Djabir Saïd-Guerni, athlete; and Boualem Sensal, writer.Benin : Angélique Kidjo, singer.
Bostwana : Matlapeng Ray Molomo, former President of the National Assembly.
Burundi : Innocent Muhozi, Director of the French-speaking radio Renaissance FM; Barnabe Muteragiranwa, Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture; and Onesime Nduwimana, Ministry of Communications, spoke-person of the government.
Djibouti : Omar Chirdon Abass, President of the Constitutional Council; Youssouf Mohamed Eusman, President of the French and Djibouti Alliance; Aden Houssein,technical adviser of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Abdourachid Idriss Nour, Director of the newspaper La Nation.
Gabon : Elisabeth Appindingoy, General manager for Youth and Sports; Mélanie Engoang, judoka; Odette Kingbo, Assistant General Secretary to the Minister of Youth and Sports, in charge of Leisures; and Alfred Mabika, Minister for Youth and Sports, in charge of Leisures; and Olga O, fashion Designer.
Guinea : Pascal Feindouno, football player.
Morocco : Abdeslam Ahizoune, President of Maroc Telecom; and Jaouad Zaïri, football player.
Mauritania : Moulaye Sidi Mohamed Abbas, businessman; and Ahmed Ould Hamza, businessman.
Niger : Alphadi, Fashion Designer.
Senegal : Pape Diop, Mayor of Dakar; Youssou Ndour, singer; Ousmane Sow, sculptor; and Syndiely Wade, daugther and associate of the President of Senegal.
Tchad : Ramadane Daouda, General Secretary of the Tchad Football Federation and director of the Sports National Office; Kayar Oumar Defallah, General secretary of the Minister for Culture, Youth and Sports; Youssouf Djibrine, Sports and Physical Education Director for the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports; Christine Iye, General secretary of the Tchad Handball Federation; Makota Koode Ramtamadji, General Secretary Assistant for the ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports; and Mahamat Seid Farah, Youth and Sports advisor to the Prime Minister.
The Ministers for the Youth and the Sports of the French-speaking countries support Paris2012:
On April 8th 2005, the 39 members of the Conference of the Ministers for the Youth and the Sports of the French-speaking countries (CONFEJES) voted unanimously to support Paris’s bid for the organization of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, following an initiative taken by the Minister for Sports of Mauritania, Mr. Ahmedou Ould Ahmadou, at the organization’s 30th Ministerial meeting.
Members of the CONFEJES include: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Quebec, New Brunswick, Capo Verde, Central African Republic, French Community of Belgium, Comoros, Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Egypt, France, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Greece, Haiti, Lebanon, Luxemburg, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Maurice, Mauritania, Niger, Democratic Republic of Congo, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Chad, Togo, Tunisia and Vietnam.