France holds special event to celebrate Paris Olympic bid

PARIS (AP) French President Francois Hollande is holding a special ceremony to promote the Paris bid for the 2024 Olympics.

The ceremony Tuesday is timed for Bastille Day, the country's biggest national holiday, and is to include several leading political and sports figures.

Paris formally announced its bid last month, hoping to bring the games back to the French capital for the first time in 100 years.

Rome, Boston, Hamburg and Budapest are also declared bidders. The IOC will choose the host city in 2017.

Paris hosted the Olympics in 1900 and 1924 and bid unsuccessfully for the 1992, 2008 and 2012 Games.