Annecy to bid on Winter Games
PARIS -- France's Olympic committee chose the picturesque Alpine city of Annecy on Wednesday as its candidate for the 2018 Winter Games.
The head of the French committee, Henri Serandour, said Annecy was picked in the first round of voting over Grenoble, Nice and Pelvoux.
Annecy received 23 of 42 votes, with 10 for Nice, nine for Grenoble and none for Pelvoux. A majority was needed for victory.
Annecy, while less well-known than front-runner Grenoble, has enjoyed large popular support as a potential Olympic city. With the Alps soaring above its pristine lake, Annecy is considered a picture-perfect site for the games.
Bids must be supported by national Olympic bodies in order to be accepted by the International Olympic Committee, which will pick the 2018 host city in 2011.
Other cities that have announced bids or interest in 2018 are Pyeongchang, South Korea; Munich, Germany; and Almaty, Kazahkstan.
French president Nicolas Sarkozy "warmly" congratulated Annecy on its victory in a statement from the Elysee Palace.
Annecy supporters shouted with delight at the announcement. Anticipation and hope had been building in what has been an exceptionally cold and snowy winter in the Haute-Savoie region of which Annecy is the capital.
Grenoble, which hosted the Games in 1968 when French Olympic ski legend Jean-Claude Killy won three gold medals to sweep all of the men's events of the time, had been considered the favorite.
But Annecy had a well-developed proposal that includes skiing in three major ski areas nearby, including the slopes of Mont Blanc, which hosted the world's first Winter Games in Chamonix in 1924.
France also has hosted national ice skating championships in Annecy, and skating facilities are well-developed.
The international airport at Geneva is just a half-hour away and there are frequent high-speed TGV train connections with Paris.
Businesses in the Annecy area, including sports equipment manufacturer Salomon, stand to benefit from the Games.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
