2023-07-13 20:50:37
It’s not just in Paris that we’re struggling to prepare for the next Olympic Games. In the Hérault too, we have been working for months to make this world event a great success. Labeled by the “Terre de Jeux 2024” program, the cities of Sète, Millau and Montpellier are committing their territory to these Olympics which will take place from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
A total of 26 training centers will be made available to athletes from all over the world: eight in Sète, four in Millau and fourteen in Montpellier. 23 Olympic and seven Paralympic disciplines can be practised, which makes this territory one of the perfect places to host delegations. These infrastructures include the Françoise Pascal nautical base in Sète, the Cross-country mountain bike course in Millau, the Angelotti Olympic swimming pool and the Stade de la Mosson in Montpellier.
“The three communities have come together to be actors in these Olympic and Paralympic Games. Millau will offer its green environments, Sète its aquatic environments and Montpellier all that is urban”, specifies Christian Assaf, vice-president in charge of sports for the Métropole de Montpellier. With these different settings and assets, the three cities, combined, offer particularly interesting potential for the delegations.
Hundreds of athletes in the region
Agreements with several nations have already been signed. The Hérault will notably host the Australian rugby sevens team, the Japanese volleyball team and the athletics delegations from Australia and New Zealand. Several French athletes will also come to prepare for their Olympic Games in the region. The French judo, BMX, volleyball, triathlon, skate, table tennis, sailing, dance and athletics teams will notably pass through Hérault.
But that’s not all. This Thursday, a global partnership agreement for the Olympic and Paralympic Games was signed at the South African Embassy in Paris between the communities and the Olympic and Sports Committee of South Africa. “The goal is that, until 2024, the South African delegation can come and prepare for the Games, either in the intermediate course or in the final preparation course”, explains Christian Assaf.
leave a legacy
Beyond their desire to participate in this planetary event, the three cities above all want to leave a legacy and ride this wave after the summer of 2024. -president in charge of sports. In March 2022, for example, we organized the World Figure Skating Championship and next November it will be the European Judo Championships. And we do this with a view to forging partnerships with the federations. »
And these events must, in the long term, create vocations among young people in the region and encourage them to invest in sport. “It’s a real locomotive, recognizes Christian Assaf. It is not simply welcoming delegations to welcome delegations. It also means setting up cross-cutting actions with schools and leisure centres, to enable them to inspire and encourage the practice of sport. »
The three cities will also host the Olympic flame
In addition to the delegations, the Hérault will also see the Olympic flame pass through its territory. The department had however refused to welcome this flame, the Paris 2024 Olympic Committee claiming 180,000 euros, an amount deemed excessive. But the cities of Millau, Sète and Montpellier finally joined forces on their behalf to override the refusal of the departmental council. The costs are divided between the three cities and will host, in turn, the Olympic flame in their municipality.
The passage of the flame is scheduled for May 13, the day after FISE, the International Festival of Extreme Sports, which has taken place in Montpellier every year since 1997. “It will pass on Monday May 13 in the morning in Millau, around noon in Sète and at the end of the day in Montpellier, specifies Christian Assaf. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence but it’s a symbolic date for the region. Even more than 700 kilometers away, the Hérault has found a way to be a player in these Olympic and Paralympic Games. And will try to make the most of it.
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