Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti has thrown his considerable weight behind Rome's bid to stage the 2004 Olympic Games. Pavarotti will travel to Lausanne, Switzerland, for the International Olympic Committee's vital meeting on September 5th, when the successful candidate will be announced. Rome is favoured to win the bid, ahead of Athens, Cape Town, Stockholm and Buenos Aires.

"It will be an honour to go to Lausanne," Pavarotti said after accepting an invitation from Italian sports minister Walter Veltroni.