Olympics-IOC gives Paris 2024 kudos, organisers still seeking LVMH deal

By Julien Pretot

PARIS (Reuters) -The International Olympic Committee is confident that Paris will be ready to host the 2024 Summer Games, the IOC's Co-ordination Commission said on Wednesday.

"We are leaving Paris with a very, very high level of confidence that Paris will be ready to host the Olympic Games," the president of the commission, Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, told a press conference after a three-day visit.

"Paris will be a turning point in the history of the modern Games. There will be a before and an after the Paris Games.

"There are no delays in the preparation of the Games, Paris is where it should be 415 days before the Games. The organising committee is already working as an operational entity," he added.

The Paris 2024 Olympics will be held from July 26-Aug. 11.

Organisers are still looking to strike a sponsorship deal with luxury group LVMH but nothing has been signed yet.

"Discussions are ongoing with the LVMH group, it is obviously our ambition to associate the major French companies that contribute to French excellence to the Games," Paris 2024 CEO Tony Estanguet said.

"As far as LVMH is concerned, we think that the company's very strong values of creativity and boldness will help to strengthen the 2024 project.

"It's a personal objective that we've been working on for a while. It takes time, but we want to make sure that this partnership makes sense and is balanced. This deal is, as of now, not done yet."

(Reporting by Julien PretotEditing by GV De Clercq and Christian Radnedge)