The Eiffel Tower today emerged as the focus of a host of major initiatives aimed at the international community to honor the delivery of the Paris 2012 Candidature File to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

One hundred and twenty (120) copies of the File were delivered Thursday at 12:03 (CET) to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne as the Eiffel Tower became the symbolic centrepiece of Paris’s Olympic aspirations.

The iconic landmark was spectacularly draped in the colours of Paris 2012, in the biggest ever branding exercise in its 115 year old history.

 

The Eiffel Tower’s ‘make-over’ is part of a new campaign by Paris 2012 based on the theme ‘L’Amour des
Jeux’.

There will be three days of additional global activity to mark the start of the international phase of the bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Tonight, the French National Assembly will host a cocktail reception for the Paris 2012 team and international technical experts to acknowledge their commitment and passion in completing the 646 page Candidature File.

Tomorrow (16/11/04), stars of the French National Football Team (including Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira) will reaffirm their support for Paris 2012 with media interviews and a photo-call. They will be preparing for their friendly match against Poland the next evening which will be branded and co-sponsored by Paris 2012.

Tomorrow afternoon (16/11/04), more than two hundred French athletes, from Olympic gold medallists to Parisian sports enthusiasts, will form a spectacular heart shape in a photo-call at the Eiffel Tower demonstrating that Athletes are at the centre of Paris 2012’s Bid.

Tomorrow evening (16/11/04), 3,000 French Mayors will assemble at Hotel de Ville under the Paris 2012 banner to emphasise their support for the French Candidature.

On Wednesday, 17th November, The Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë (President of Paris 2012) and all senior officials from the Bid, will host the international media in Hotel de Ville at 11h00 (CET) to unveil the highlights of the Candidature File. This will be a multilingual media conference broadcast live, online, through the Paris 2012 website at www.parisjo2012.fr. It will be followed by an online Q&A session at 13h00(CET) where Paris 2012 CEO, Philippe Baudillon, will answer questions from the world’s media.

To coincide with this event, French Embassies in 14 nations on every continent will simultaneously showcase the Paris 2012 Candidature File to media and official guests.

Finally Paris 2012 will launch its new-look website, which will include specific details of the Candidature File together with 3D visuals and stunning images of the international launch, downloadable from the dedicated media section.

Philippe Baudillon, CEO of Paris 2012, said: "Today is a key moment for us as we begin to share L’Amour des Jeux with the world. During three days of activity, organisations and individuals who have been integral to our Bid will demonstrate their support for Paris 2012".

"We are eager to share the highlights of our Candidature File with the World’s media on 17 November and are confident that our concept and the supporting technical details will meet the highest standards demanded by the Olympic Movement".

 

"Our Bid comes from the Heart of the French Nation; a heart that beats with L’Amour des Jeux".

 

 
In preparation of the File, did you know that…?
52,750,000 French people (79%) support the Bid based on last survey
700,500 French and English words were written in the File
98,157 Man-hours (men and women) were spent preparing the File
31,790 Sheets of paper were sent for recycling by the Team
18,333 Cups of Coffee and herbal tea were consumed by the Team
6,025 Photographs were considered for the File (124 made it)
2,231 Occasions a Team member chose to leave work after midnight
1,250 Meetings were held by three or more members of the Team
689 Pages are in the French version of the file
109 People were directly involved in the preparation of the file
48 Different leading technical experts were involved in the Team
44 3D Visuals of the proposed venues and the Olympic Village are included in the File
22 Different Regions of France were represented by the Team
17 Themes are in the File
15 Different languages are spoken fluently by the Team
9 Different nationalities were in the Team
3 Times that Bid CEO, Philippe Baudillon, read the French and English final versions of the File
1 Bid File is now ready for submission to the IOC before November 15, 2004