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"Today I wrote a letter to the International Olympic
Committee in which we have broken off our candidature for the
Olympic Games in 2024," Malago told reporters, ending
speculation that he might try to pursue the bid regardless.
Rome Mayor Virginia Raggi announced last month that she would
not back Malago's drive to put on the sporting extravaganza,
saying that staging the Games would bury the Italian capital
under piles of debt and tonnes of cement.
Raggi's anti-establishment 5-Star Movement in June won a
landslide victory to take over in Rome. It had repeatedly
flagged its opposition to the hosting the Games, arguing that
the chaotic city had more pressing problems.
However, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government had firmly
supported the bid and the broader Rome municipality, which
includes an array of small town councils, had indicated it was
ready to put its name to the project in an attempt to bypass the
5-Star veto.
But Malago, who met Olympic chiefs last week, called a press
conference on Tuesday to make clear there was no way forward.
His announcement means only Paris, Los Angeles and Budapest are
left in the running to stage the 2024 summer games.
(Reporting by Massimiliano Di Giorgio; Writing by Crispian
Balmer, editing by Steve Scherer)
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