Paris goes public with 2024 Olympic bid while Rome takes a hit

Paris and Rome -- the cities considered Los Angeles’ toughest competitors for the 2024 Summer Olympics -- have made headlines for very different reasons.

The Paris campaign launched a wide-scale effort Tuesday to get French citizens more involved in the bid at open meetings or on the Internet.

Paris 2024 will post feedback and hold votes on specific proposals. In September, the top 100 ideas put forward will be analyzed and considered for inclusion in the bid.

Calling it “the biggest public engagement in Olympic bid history,” Co-Chairman Tony Estanguet said his committee is seeking “a real dialog with the French public, taking into account views from all aspects of society.”

The news was not so positive for the Italian bid, whose leader has found himself caught up in the so-called Panama Papers scandal.

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was listed in documents from a Panamanian law firm that appear to show how the global political and business elite have created complex systems to hide money in offshore accounts.

Montezemolo, also the head of an Italian airline and former head of Ferrari, has denied any wrongdoing.

With Budapest, Hungary, rounding out the field of cities seeking the 2024 Games, the International Olympic Committee is scheduled to select a host in September 2017.