Olympic Committee to Name 2024, 2028 Host Cities Simultaneously

Executive board ratifies proposal which departs from procedure of individually soliciting, reviewing bids

The International Olympic Committee took the first step toward naming the host cities for the 2024 and 2028 Summer Games simultaneously this summer, amid growing support for a plan to award those Games to Paris and Los Angeles, respectively.

At meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday, the IOC executive board ratified a proposal to name the host cities at the same time, a move which departs from the normal procedure of soliciting and reviewing bids for each Olympiad individually. The proposal will now be put to a vote by full IOC membership at a special meeting on July 11 and 12. If approved, the host cities for both Games are expected to be named at the full IOC session in Lima, Peru, in September.

IOC President Thomas Bach said initial reviews of candidacies of both Paris and Los Angeles, which are each bidding for the 2024 Games, presented the committee with “a golden opportunity” to award two Games to the two cities. He played down suggestions that the plan is to award 2024 to Paris and 2028 to Los Angeles, saying that “both cities are open to being approached by IOC after such a vote, and to discuss how to achieve a win-win-win situation.”

In a statement, U.S. Olympic Committee chief executive Scott Blackmun said the Los Angeles bid for 2024 is “not only the most exceptional U.S. bid ever proposed, but is the exact right bid at the exact right time.”

The Paris 2024 bid posted a statement on its official Twitter account that said, in part, “we continue to work hard to win the support of IOC Members and the broader sports family for a Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Olympic leadership is moving toward a plan to award the 2024 Games to Paris and the 2028 Games to Los Angeles. Both cities have emphasized their commitment to the 2024 Olympiad, though Los Angeles officials in recent weeks have hinted that they are open to negotiation, particularly if the 2028 plan would include allowances from the IOC to underwrite sports programs for local children.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told reporters last week that “my dream is not so much to bring the Olympics here, but to bring youth sports for free to every ZIP Code,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

Meanwhile, USOC officials are coalescing around the idea of a 2028 Games in Los Angeles. A person familiar with the USOC’s thinking said its ultimate goal is to bring a Summer Olympics back to the U.S. and it feels this plan would achieve that.

Mr. Garcetti and Los Angeles bid chairman Casey Wasserman said they welcomed the IOC board decision toward a 24/28 bid and added that they look forward to “working together to offer the best path forward for our city and the Olympic Movement’s future.”

Mr. Bach said the board is encouraged to move toward the 24/28 deal, as it is known, in part because both Paris and Los Angeles have put forth compelling bids at a time when other Western communities are growing skittish about hosting a Games. Of Olympic bids, he said, the public “is getting suspicious.” He added that many people feel that if powerful interests are uniting behind these projects, then those interests are likely lining their pockets. “This change in attitude, we could complain about it, but we should not ignore it,” he said.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said he and others working on his city’s bid for the 2024 Games are ‘working together to offer the best path forward for our city and the Olympic Movement’s future.’ PHOTO:ANDREW HARRER/BLOOMBERG NEWS

Several prominent would-be Olympic hosts have seen their bids collapse or withdraw in recent years. An initial plan to feature Boston as the U.S. candidate city for 2024 fell apart, and a bid by Rome for 2024 was suspended last year, both amid broad public criticism for hosting the Games. Mr. Bach said the board is considering changes to future bid processes, including shortening the time of candidacy from two years to one.

The board on Friday also finalized the program for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which will feature several new events aimed at appealing to broader, younger audiences. Additions to the Tokyo program include 3-on-3 basketball and various mixed-gender events, including relays in track and field, swimming, and triathlon. In all, the 2020 Games will feature a net increase of 15 events over the 2016 Olympics while also reducing quotas for participating athletes by nearly 300.

IOC Sport Director Kit McConnell said the changes were in effort to make the Olympics “more youthful, more urban, and more [equitable for] women].” He added that the program changes aren’t expected to increase the number of venues used in Tokyo.

Source: The Wall Street Journal