François Hollande makes bid for Paris to host 2024 Olympics

French President François Hollande is wasting no time pushing his country as a potential 2024 Olympics host, making an on-site bid in Rio de Janeiro.

Hollande flew to Rio on Thursday for a series of meetings over two days, including a dinner with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach and delegation chiefs of countries taking part in the Olympics and Paralympics. They were holding private talks Friday.

Paris lost the 2012 Games to London in a surprise for the French, who felt certain Paris would be selected.

Hollande will present the French candidacy for 2024 to the media on Friday. He will also meet with French athletes and attend gala events before leaving after the opening ceremony.

The host of the 2024 Summer Games will be selected next September in Peru. So far, Rome, Budapest, and Los Angeles are the only three cities in competition with Paris for the Olympics. 

Paris has hosted the Summer Games twice in history, but not since 1924. The French capital lost bids to host the Olympics in 1992, 2008 and 2012 to Barcelona, Beijing, and London, respectively. 

By The Associated Press, with files from CBC Sports