After Venice and Rome, Palermo also is proposing itself for the next summer Olympics in 2020. The proposal will be officially presented tomorrow in Rome at the Foreign Press Association, by the president of the Sicilian region Raffaele Lombardo (Mpa) and by the Sports councillor Nino Strano (Pdl). But the proposal, which was a surprise, is already provoking many political discussions, while Mario Pescante, vice president of the International Olympic Committee distances himself: “Three cities are not too many, but when the candidate will be chosen, we must support it all together, we need public opinion consensus and the government support”.

The first person surprised was Palermo’s mayor Diego Cammarata (Pdl) who did not know anything. “Palermo – said the mayor – would take advantage of such possibility, but what leaves me really without words is that the President of the Region proposed the city of Palermo going over the heads of the institutions concerned”. Veneto also protested, the President of the Region Giancarlo Galan, who was the first one to propose Venice for the 2020 games lost his patience: “Venice did the first step, and Rome arrived, the capital city had already had Olympic Game.

Ok. But now I’m really pissed off because there is also Palermo”. Lombardo’s reply is straightforward: “I do not accept the typical racist behaviour of President Galan: Palermo’s proposal arrived thanks to the sports councillor Nino Strano”.

Translated by Chiara Nunnari from John Milton Institute