Olympic Games Paris bid: There was plenty of glitz and glamour but little real substance when Paris launched its rival bid to London for the 2012 Olympic Games in Paris yesterday.

In a lavish ceremony at the 19th century Hotel de Ville, organisers officially declared their intention to bid but they did not reveal any technical plans.

However, they left no one in any doubt that they are entering the race to host the world's biggest sporting event with every intention of emerging triumphant.

"We are in this to win," said the mayor of Paris Bertrand Delanoe. "But when a team goes on the pitch, it plays together for the whole match.

"There is no credit for just individuals in this. We are bidding because it is the desire of all France and of the athletes."

In contrast to London's low-key launch at City Hall last week, the French capital put on a show. Among those who are backing the bid is Zinedine Zidane, France's most charismatic footballer.

Paris organisers also unveiled their bid logo - "The games for all colours" - with a heart illustrated in the middle of the words "Paris 2012".

The French government has deliberated long and hard before endorsing a Paris bid following the disappointment of two years ago when the city was comprehensively beaten by Beijing for the 2008 Olympics.

Even more of a blow to French pride was the fact it finished behind Istanbul, considered the weakest of the candidates.

This latest bid will again be centred on the Stade de France, host for the 1998 World Cup final and this year's world athletics championships.

But a serious weakness this time is that the land earmarked as a site for the athletes' village for the 2008 games is no longer available.

That means the village will be much further from the Stade de France - unlike in London where it is planned that everything will be on a site in and around Stratford.

Paris, however, still has much on its side. These include the fact that it was a French baron, Pierre de Coubertin, who revived the modern Olympics in 1894, and that Paris has not hosted the games since 1924.

Paris joins the race that not only includes London but also New York, Madrid, Havana and Leipzig. It is expected that Moscow and a Brazilian city will also make bids before the deadline closes on July 15th.

The International Olympic Committee will make a final decision as to which city should host the games when it meets in Singapore on July 6th, 2005.