By Nick Butler

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is expected to announce a Rome 2024 Olympic bid tomorrow ©Getty ImagesA Rome bid for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics is expected to be confirmed by Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi tomorrow.


According to reports Renzi, who assumed his position in February, should make the announcement at the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) headquarters, despite the ongoing economic problems which caused the capital to abandon its bid for the 2020 Games.

"Keep the date, December 15, 2014," Renzi said on RTL Radio.

"If we manage to get the Inland Revenue and the Civil Service behind us we can easily host the Olympic Games.

"Why should we be afraid of them?"

Such a bid could form part of an attempt to land three major sporting events on Italian soil in the early 2020s, with bids also being considered for the 2022 Ryder Cup golf competition and the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The Italian capital could become a hotbed of major international sport in the early 2020s ©AFP/Getty ImagesThe Italian capital could become a hotbed of major international sport in the early 2020s ©AFP/Getty Images



If successfully launched, it would mark a third bid on Italian soil following the Rome 1960 Summer Games and the Turin 2006 Winter version, and as well as the 2020 race won by Tokyo, Rome has also bid unsuccessfully for the 1924, 1936 and 2004 editions. 

But the sheer launching of another attempt would represent a remarkable turnaround from the situation in 2012, when former Prime Minister Mario Monti noted "it would not be responsible in the current conditions in Italy to take on these guarantees [for the Games]"

Earlier this year, Rome's City Council was bailed out by the Central Government in evidence of lingering financial problems, while Turin is still recovering from hosting a Games almost 82 per cent over budget.

Renzi's proposals have already met resistance from right-wing leader Matteo Salvini of the Lega Nord party, who described the Prime Minister's proposal as "dangerous". 

"We still have the white elephants of the Turin Winter Olympics  and we're still paying off debts from the Rome 2009 World Swimming Championships," he added, according to Agence France-Presse.

Memories of the financial problems which followed the Turin 2006 Winter Games could dampen enthusiasm ©Getty ImagesMemories of the financial problems which followed the Turin 2006 Winter Games could dampen enthusiasm ©Getty Images



Yet the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Agenda 2020 reform process, completed last week at the Extraordinary IOC Session in Monte Carlo, is encouraging potential bidders due to plans to reduce the cost of bidding, offer more support, and possibly allow more events to be held outside the host city to maximise existing venues.

There is already expected to be a bid from the United States, from a shortlist of Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., with a further announcement due on Tuesday (December 16).

In terms of European rivals, Germany are expected to put forward either Berlin or Hamburg, while Paris, Istanbul and Budapest are also considering bids.

Baku, Doha and either Pretoria or Gauteng Province in South Africa are other potential contenders.

Although the deadline for confirming bids is September 15, a special invitation phase for the 2024 Olympic bid process will start on January 15, with the IOC keen to provide more consultation with cities in order to generate more popular support.

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