French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Lima for the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) September 13 vote on the 2024 Olympics, the Paris bid team announced on Tuesday.
Team member Guy Drut confirmed President Macron's presence in the Inca country for the crucial vote after talks between the newly-elected leader and the IOC's evaluation commission over coffee and croissants at the Elysee Palace.
"Emmanuel Macron told Patrick Baumann [head of the IOC's inspection team] that he would definitely be in Lausanne for the IOC's debriefing [in early July] and also in Lima on September 13," Drut affirmed.
Paris 2024 co-president Bernard Lapasset also confirmed the visit.
"This is evidence of commitment. It is not just a word, there is a unity up to the highest level of the State," Lapasset suggested.
Macron is a strong supporter of the Paris bid to host the Olympics for the first time in a century and even before Sunday's investiture he had telephoned Olympic chief Thomas Bach to confirm his support.
(END) AFP/VVS/FHG/DHT/MVB