Rome will abandon its bid to host the 2024 Olympics if sceptical new mayor Virginia Raggi does not back it by early next month, the president of Italy’s Olympic Committee said yesterday. “If by October 7 the city council has not guaranteed (its support) we cannot go forward,” Giovanni Malago told a press conference. The date is a deadline for bidding cities to present fuller details of their bid proposals. New mayor Raggi has made it clear she does not regard the Olympic bid a good idea for the cash-strapped city but has stopped short of saying she will not back it.
“There will be no cost involved for Roman citizens,” he said, arguing that the 5.3-billion-euro ($6bn) budget for the Games would be fully covered by the Olympic Committee, sponsors and the national government, which has enthusiastically backed the bid. The Games would also present an opportunity for an overhaul of Rome’s crumbling public transport facilities. “It is a great opportunity for an upgrade of the city,” said bid president Luca Di Montezemolo, the former Ferrari formula one boss.
Supporters of the bid say hosting the Games could generate 177,000 jobs for the Eternal City. Raggi is seen by most pundits as simply waiting for the end of the Paralympics in Rio to announce that City Hall will not be supporting the bid — a stance that would be fatal for its chances of success. Rome is one of four candidates to host the Olympics in 2024 along with Paris, Budapest and Los Angeles.

Reprimand for new protest by Ethiopian runner
The International Paralympic Committee reprimanded a visually impaired Ethiopian runner Monday for crossing his arms above his head at the finish line, a protest against alleged rights abuses by his government.
The protest by Tamiru Demisse, the silver medallist in the men’s 1,500 m in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, comes after fellow Ethiopian runner Feyisa Lilesa made headlines during the Olympics last month when he made a similar protest as he claimed silver in the men’s marathon.
The gesture — a sort of X above the head — is a symbol of defiance against the Ethiopian government’s crack-down on anti-government protests that started in the Oromo region in November last year. Human Rights Watch estimates the Ethiopian security forces have killed more than 400 people involved in the protests.
But the International Paralympic Committee sternly rebuked Demisse, 22, for making a political statement at the Games. “He’s been told very, very clearly that political statements are definitely (forbidden) in the Paralympics Games, as they are in the Olympic Games. It’s been made very, very clear to him that this must not be done again,” said IPC president Philip Craven.
Olympic athlete Lilesa made the protest gesture twice — once while crossing the finish line and again on the medal podium. He said he feared his life would be in peril if he returned home. Ethiopian authorities assured him he would not be punished, but he nevertheless skipped the Olympic team’s flight home.
Reports have suggested he may seek political asylum in the United States. Regarded as one of Africa’s most repressive states, Ethiopia is struggling to contain the rare anti-government unrest unleashed by the protest movement, which has spread from Oromo in the center of the country to Amhara in the north.