Paris 2024 Olympic surfing events to be held in Tahiti… 10,000 MILES away from French capital
TAHITI has been picked to host surfing events at the 2024 Paris Olympics - 10,000 miles from the host city.
But first the International Olympic Committee must clear the controversial plan from French organisers.
Remote Polynesian island Tahiti, with a population of 190,000, was picked ahead of Brittany and Biarritz on France’s western coast.
The Paris 2024 Twtter feed responded by posting: "One of the most beautiful waves in the world for [a] spectacular Games!
"Paris 2024 chooses the wave of Teahupo'o in Tahiti to host the Surf event! Next step: IOC validation."
IOC MUST AGREE
But getting the IOC's confirmation is far from certain.
IOC president Thomas Bach has previously said: “The choice is in the hands of the [French] organising committee.
“But I said in June, and I haven’t changed my mind, my personal opinion is if you have two or more candidate sites of the same sporting level I definitely prefer the option closest to the centre of the Games.
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"So that the athletes and spectators can profit from the atmosphere of the Olympics.”
Tahiti is the largest island in French Polynesia, amid the Windward group in the central zone of the Pacific Ocean.
French Polynesia's capital Papeete is on the northwest coast of Tahiti, with the region's only international airport nearby.