Paris – France President Nicolas Sarkozy has written to the members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urging them to vote for Annecy when they choose the host city of the 2018 Winter Olympics in the South African city of Durban on Wednesday.
In his letter, written on Wednesday, Sarkozy stressed that all three venues – Annecy is being challenged by Munich in Germany and the South Korean city of Pyeongchang – had “unquestionable qualities” but said the French bid had “something very special”.
He said the candidature of Annecy was that “of a town, of a region ready to welcome the Games to an area which carries a deep respect and a passion without equal for winter sports”.
“The mountains are the heart of our project,” said Sarkozy, who reminded the IOC that the first official Winter Olympics took place in the French resort of Chamonix in 1924.
Unlike German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who wrote a similar letter to the IOC last week talking up the virtues of Munich, Sarkozy will not be in Durban in the lead-up to Wednesday's ballot although French Prime Minister Francois Fillon and Sports Minister Chantal Jouanno will both be there.
German President Christian Wulff and Korean president Lee Myung-Bak will also be in the port city for the vote. – Sapa-AFP