IOC pledges 500,000 euros to ensure Notre-Dame ready for Paris 2024

'The aim of completing the reconstruction in time for Paris 2024 will be an extra motivation for all of us,' says International Olympics Committee president Thomas Bach

Agence France-Presse

@afp

Published 9:28 PM, April 18, 2019

Updated 9:37 PM, April 18, 2019

DAMAGED. This photo shows the damaged roof of Notre-Dame-de Paris Cathedral in Paris on April 16, 2019, a day after a fire that devastated the building in the centre of the French capital. Photo by Amaury Blin/AFP

PARIS, France – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday, April 18, pledged 500,000 euros ($562,0000) to help ensure Notre-Dame is restored in time for the 2024 Paris Games.

"The aim of completing the reconstruction in time for Paris 2024 will be an extra motivation for all of us," IOC president Thomas Bach told 2024 Games chief Thomas Estanguet in a letter.

"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.

The IOC's contribution joins donations totaling 850 million euros made since the landmark was gutted by fire on Monday evening. – Rappler.com