(ATR) Amid the myriad details needed to handle for the 2024 Olympics, the push is on to include restoration of Notre Dame on that list.
French President Emmanuel Macron was the first to publicly mention such an ambition two days ago as the embers from the April 15 fire were extinguished. He set a deadline to complete the work within five years, aiming for the landmark to be part of the celebration of the 2024 Olympics.
Today, IOC President Thomas Bach wrote to Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet, pledging €500,000 ($562,000) to the rebuilding effort.
"The aim of completing the reconstruction in time for Paris 2024 will be an extra motivation for all of us," Bach said in a letter to Estanguet.
"All the Olympic movement and in particular the IOC have been extremely touched by the instantaneous connection the French have made between Notre Dame cathedral and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games," he wrote.
So far more than €800 million ($899 million) have been pledged to help pay for the repair of the 800-year-old landmark.
"The President [Macron] said that the objective was to restore Notre Dame in five years so that the monument will be ready to welcome the world during Paris 2024," Anne Descamp, media director for Paris 2024 tells ATR.
But she adds that this will not be a project for the organizing committee.
"It seems a nice goal and it seems also that it would be possible," French NOC President Denis Masseglia tells Around the Rings.
But there’s plenty of doubt over the speedy timeline. Architects who have handled other restorations say a more accurate schedule ranges from 10 to 30 years.
And timing aside, just three days after the fire, the real cost of the repairs is not known. That number will depend on how Notre Dame will be restored. That question will likely be subject to substantial debate.
Reported by Ed Hula.
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