Olympics: Macron to meet with IOC bid evaluation team next week

PARIS ( Reuters) - French president elect Emmanuel Macron will meet next week in Paris with officials evaluating the city's bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Macron, who takes office on Sunday, spoke to International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach to reiterate his backing for the French bid, the centrist election winner's movement, En Marche!, said in a statement.

Bid organisers are hopeful that Macron's internationalist outlook will be a boost to their campaign, and he had signalled his intent to meet with the IOC's evaluation commission on Sunday.

The En Marche! statement said Macron, who won the presidency in a runoff against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen last Sunday, would meet with the commission "next week".

"Emmanuel Macron has always backed Paris 2024 since he launched his presidential bid. We are happy that the president elect took this initiative before officially taking power," Paris 2024 bid leader Tony Estanguet said in a statement.

The evaluation commission starts its three-day visit on Sunday, after a trip to Los Angeles, the only other city in the race to host the 2024 Games.

The final vote will be held in Lima on Sept. 13.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; editing by John Stonestreet)