"You could feel the excitement," Pierre-Olivier Beckers-Vieujant, the Belgian chair of the Commission, told a concluding press conference at the Paris 2024 headquarters in Saint Denis. "It is an iconic venue that shows the best of what France has to offer."

At the end of what was the last effective visit by the Commission, which will look in again shortly before the Olympic Opening Ceremony on July 26 next year, Beckers-Vieujant certainly gave voice to that sense of excitement as he assessed what he described as a "new model for the Games" that would be "unique, innovative, spectacular."

The chair cut to the chase in his opening comments: "We are confident that Paris will be ready to host the Games. And not just any Games, but a new type of Games….

"They will be fully inclusive, sustainable, responsible and useful to society. They are a highly complex Games to organise but with a lot of tangible and intangible heritage.

"Paris will be a turning point of the organisation of the Olympic Games in the modern era. There will be a Before and After at the Paris Games - we are convinced of this.

"Paris is where it should be 415 days before the Opening Ceremony.

"The event is coming into being and the Organising Committee is now becoming operational. The Games is underway at all levels…

"These Games are taking shape. They are coming to life.

"Yesterday we stood on the walkway between the Stade De France and the Aquatics Centre and you could already get a sense of what the Games will look like.

"It brought it home that Paris 2024 is meeting all expectations.

"These Games are taking shape. They are coming to life: You can really feel it."

Beckers-Vieujant described the Aquatics Centre, which is nearly completed, as "a very Impressive structure that will allow athletes to have their best performance for these Games".

He added, "It will also be a platform to show what Paris 2024 is trying to do with these Games in terms of energy saving and sustainability, protection of the environment, low carbon emissions and the re-use of materials.

"We have been delighted to see that for the very first time we have not had to worry about the Games opening on time because everything has been pretty much built already and a beautiful job has been done."

Asked at one point to justify his comment about a "new model" by a moderately cynical member of the Fourth Estate - honestly, we are awful aren’t we? -  Beckers-Vieujant mobilised on all fronts.

"These Games have the aim of accelerating the transformation of French society," he told his questioner. "They are playing a part in it becoming a fairer and more inclusive place.

"This is unprecedented and that is why the Games, beyond the Olympic values that the athletes will be showcasing, we are really talking about a model that involves not only the celebration of the Games but also the legacy that will leave a mark in the society.

"Never before has there been such urgency to engage with the population. There are a range of initiatives, including the Terre de Jeux. The effort is being made to root the preparations and the Games themselves in the daily lives of French citizens. This is something that is unprecedented.

"It takes seven years to prepare the Games. This is the first time in the history of the Olympic Movement that we will be able to showcase the idea of this new vision of the Games.

"There was some of that in Rio, and some of that in Tokyo. But this is the first opportunity in full.

"A lot has been done since 2017 bringing together the Agenda of IOC 2020 + 5 and that of Paris 2024. So these are a Games that are beautifully expressed."

The IOC’s Agenda 2020 + 5 was approved as the strategic roadmap to 2025 at its Session in March 2021.

It consisted of 15 recommendations furthering the trajectory of changes already encompassed within Agenda 2020, approved in 2014 and involving the devolvement of summer and winter Games bids to Future Host Commissions to save time and costs, a stronger accent on youth involvement, a commitment to gender parity and, as another economic saving, a new emphasis on using existing or temporary infrastructures to host events.

The 2020 + 5 refinements were based on "key trends identified through robust research as likely to be decisive in the post-coronavirus world."

These five trends were under the categories of solidarity - in the face of growing social, political and economic polarisation - digitalisation - as a vital tool to engage with young people - the continuance of working within United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, credibility with regard to integrity and good governance, and economic and financial resilience to avoid burdening future generations with debt.

The number of 2020 + 5 boxes being ticked by the Paris 2024 team, Beckers-Vieujant maintains, is setting new standards.

"There are not many infrastructures that have needed to be created and they will all have a continuing purpose," he said, sitting alongside the Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet.

"Beyond that there has been a huge effort to create initiatives with the purpose of involving the youth."

Beckers-Vieujant cited the recent Olympic and Paralympic Week, which involved the participation of a million young people across 8,000 schools in learning about the values that underpin the Olympics and engaging in physical activity.

“We came up with the idea of Agenda 2020 in 2014, and that has since been developed,” he went on.

“Now we have to stop asking countries to align with the IOC and to make sure the Games fit in with cities.

"In Paris there will be some new constructions and these buildings will be highly useful to the city in terms of logic and sport, while many others are already built.

"That is another way of allowing the Games to reduce the bill at the end of the day. The bill for Paris will be much lower than for many past editions.

"Of course, for any success there has to be some luck. But as Wayne Gretzky used to say when he was asked how he always managed to be in the right place at the right time - 'I get the impression that the harder I work the luckier I get.’ I get the impression that’s also true of Paris 2024.

"What I want to say is that we are clearly confident of the future success of Paris 2024 but we know we will have to collaborate over responsibilities and accountability. We want to work hand-in-hand to find solutions.

"We want to congratulate Tony and his team even though there are still 415 days until the start of the Games."

Estanguet responded: “It’s really great to hear the IOC congratulate us - it’s a sign for all of us who have been working for years on a daily basis to deliver an incredible Games.

"Being able to take stock of all the stakeholders and to draw lessons from them is a great opportunity for us and to be more serene for the rest of our preparation work.

"So we are really satisfied about the outcome of this Commission. We need to look to the things that still need to be done. But we are serene.

"Today the IOC has recognised that we are on track and this is really important.

"We know the clock is ticking and we are fully mobilised. We want to be able to welcome the whole world in 2024. So we all feel a collective enthusiasm to engage and deliver this project.

"We are making sure that France has understood our vision and you can see that reflected in the most recent polls that showed that 92 per cent of French people were in favour of the Games:

"We already have 15 partners. We still have a few discussions for other partnerships in this next mode of the Games for existing and future commercial partnerships.

"We are about to enter a fascinating stage where everything is going to become very tangible in the next few weeks.

"We will require to be humble to keep this energy but this is a turning point and it is very important now for us to maintain our level."

En passant, Estanguet addressed two of most urgent arrivals on the Paris 2024 radar.

The first was the latest wave of protests about French pension reforms, which involved a physical, albeit orderly, incursion into the Paris 2024 headquarters itself on last Tuesday’s (June 6) "Day of Action" - which was also, awkwardly, day two of the Commission visit.

Estanguet said it was “a shame” that the Games were being used for political purposes that had no direct bearing upon it. Interesting discussion point that…

He also responded robustly to recent criticism of the Paris 2024 budget arising over leaked information from a report being prepared by French audit body Cour des Comptes suggesting that there were "substantial uncertainties" over spending on the Games.

Backing up a defence made by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo he added: "We we will take all the feedback from this report.

"But as we see it this is a confirmation that we are on the right track and going in the right direction.

"We have to continue to optimise the model and make it as efficient as possible.

"But there are no real sticking points in the report and there is nothing that we are really worried about.

"Knowing how stringent these reports are I think it is very satisfactory for us."

On the same subject, Beckers-Vieujant commented: "Paris 2024 is working hand-in-hand with its stakeholders. The goal is to find optimisations in the budget.

"We are in line. I can only confirm that on behalf of the IOC most of the work was around more flexibility regarding constraints and demands which have been traditionally part of what the IOC used to expect of a host city. We are working on that on a daily basis.

"Some optimisations are, as they say, in the bank. Others are still in the pipeline."

The IOC Coordination Commission chair also noted the steadily increasing number of those joining the organisation.

"The OCOG (Organising Committee for the Olympic Games) is being strengthened in terms of talents and we can see the quality of people joining the team, bringing their experience at all levels," he said.

"We note that a transport expert has joined very recently.

"In a period of seven years some things can be achieved and some not. We knew shortly after 2017 that some changes to the public transport could not be achieved.

"We agreed very quickly that none of the ones that do not need to be achieved were mission critical for the Games.

"We can see already when we travel through Paris that a number of improvements have been made. As for the changes that did not get started - we can regret them but they will not be mission-critical

"The success of ticket sales is crucial to the stable economic balance of the Games but we need to strike a balance to give life to the vision of Paris 2024.

"Ten per cent of the tickets have sold for more than 200 euros, but that feeds into the economy of the Games and its engagement programmes. There are now more than 400 municipalities in the Terre de Jeux programme."

It is going to be busy summer for the Games organisers. Later this month details will be revealed of the routes for the Olympic Torch that will arrive from Athens at Marseille, the sailing venue.

The first test events will also take place to check the levels of preparedness on various sites.

"Hopefully lessons will be learned and adjustments will be made to any elements that need to be improved," Estanguet said.

There is due to be a meeting for Chefs de Mission in July. The World Broadcasting Briefing is scheduled to take place in August, followed by the World Press Briefing in September.

Updating over the position regarding security for the Games, Estanguet added: "We have made progress in terms of engaging private security, and we will be checking with the IOC’s security teams in the next few days to update them. Local authorities are also continuing to have a very positive impact in terms of engaging private security and we are continuing to liaise on the subject with regional prefectures.

"We have been able to fill quite a few staffing positions already. There will be four hiring waves for private security by the end of 2023 to make sure we fulfil our obligations and cover our needs in terms of human resources once we have fully decided on the volumes required. So up to now we are perfectly on schedule."

Asked to speak about possible security concerns over the Olympic Opening Ceremony, which will take place along a six-kilometres stretch of the River Seine, enabling almost half a million spectators free access, Beckers-Vieujant responded: "One of the highlights of this new model of the Games will be an Opening Ceremony taking place in the city and acessible for all the general public because we want the values of the Olympic Games to be accessible for everyone. 

"We want to have a beautiful and artistic Ceremony.

"As regards security, we are fully convinced of the fact that the authorities will be able to guarantee everyone’s safety. They are committed to doing so.

"There is strong collaboration in this area between the responsible local and national authorities.

"And in terms of safety and security the IOC has amassed a lot of knowledge and lessons on this topic which it is passing on."

Sustainability is another key issue for the IOC.

"The carbon footprint of the Games is very important," Beckers-Vieujant said. "That is another reason why it is a model for future Games as it is contributing to the sustainability goals of the United Nations in a tangible way.

"On the question of hotel capacity - there is a very large capacity for Paris 2024 spectators and there is a huge enthusiasm.

"We are seeing from ticket sales so far that so many of the population in France to be part of these Games after two editions without spectators.

"It is a good problem to have. It is the same with the volunteering programme - 190 countries have produced 300,000 candidates.

"Paris 2024 will not be able to satisfy every individual but that will not prevent it delivering on its commitments."

Asked if, given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the uncertain rumblings over China’s intentions over Taiwan, he felt that geopolitical tensions might impact next year’s Games, Beckers-Vieujant responded: "No, we don’t see that.

"We are very conscious that the world is a complex place but very conscious that the purpose of the Games is to align the youth of the world around the world’s largest pacific event.

"That is why the host country declares the Olympic Truce during the Games and why we can hold the Games in a peaceful environment.

"Clearly around the world there are different geopolitical issues going on and that will continue. It is part of life. The Olympic and Paralympic Games cannot exclude themselves from normal life but I do not see why at this stage that a geopolitical relationship could create a problem for the Games in France."

The final question on the day went to the Paris 2024 chief executive, Etienne Thobois, on the subject of how rental contracts had progressed for venues such as the Stade de France.

"In terms of making venues available we are making great progress," he said. "The only ongoing discussions are round how long sites will be available to us exclusively so we can do all the work we need to do.

"But the main principles are being finalised, including with the Stade de France. 

"This summer we will have all contracts signed regarding making stadiums available."