Rome is officially a candidate for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The letter that formalizes the commitment to organize the greatest sports festival in the world was sent today to the IOC, the International Olympic Committee, that on 16^th of September will reveal  the names of all the cities that have come forward.

This morning in the Rome City Council, Rome 2024 President Luca di Montezemolo, CONI President Giovanni Malagò and the Mayor of Rome Ignazio Marino signed the letter that formalizes the challenge of the Italian candidature and enhances its strengths. The challenging path of the Capital begins today. The objective is to build and share a project that will provide athletes and the world "the opportunity to experience the excitement and the Olympic spirit" in a stage of unparalleled beauty. No other city in the world can offer a similar heritage of art, history and culture that embraces such a wide span of time, and that allows to "perform the Olympics in the most spectacular and symbolic venues of the Eternal City".

Beauty, culture, and above all, with the commitment of Italy, innovation and sustainability, are consistent the main guidelines dictated by the 2020 IOC Agenda  that envisage a strong focus on legacy:  the future use for the city of the structures used for the Olympics.  Indications that the Rome 2024 Committee embraces with great conviction next to the equally crucial suggestion of sobriety. Rome, as the letter explains, has many sports facilities, partially in parks and major green areas, which will be used for the 2024 Olympics with minor upgrades and, if necessary, by using temporary structures.

Finally, the letter made reference to the Olympic values, that,  in a multicultural city like the Capital, "where diversity becomes the backbone of equality", can really build a bridge to peace and friendship of all nations.