The United States Olympic Committee has turned its attention to Los Angeles as it seeks to stay in the race to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
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The global Olympic Committee typically makes a large contribution to offset the event’s cost.
The USOC made the announcement following a board meeting in Colorado.
Blackmun noted that 81 percent of people in Los Angeles support the city bidding for the 2024 Games.
Tory and Aubut spoke about the changes to the bid process, where the worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) abolished a limit on the amount of cities who can put forward their candidacy and have dropped the application stage as part of their Agenda 2020 reform process. The last Summer Games were held in Los Angeles in 1984.
“The L.A. Olympics would inspire the world and are right for our city”, said Mayor Eric Garcetti in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“We continue to think that a U.S. bid for the 2024 Games can be successful”, said USOC chairman Larry Probst.
“The Games would unite our communities, generate significant economic benefits and with our world-class venues, be affordable and profitable like they were in 1932 and 1984”, Garcetti said. “This is who we are, it is our destiny”, he said.
City officials said earlier this week the Summer 2024 Olympics would come with a $4.1 billion price tag and guaranteed to cover any cost overruns – something Boston officials were not willing to do.
If Los Angeles is chosen as America’s bidder, it could be up against potential foreign bidders such as Rome; Nairobi, Kenya; Casablanca, Morocco; Johannesburg and Durban, South Africa; Doha, Qatar; Melbourne, Australia; Paris; Hamburg, Germany; and St. Petersburg, Russia.
The mayor also stressed that his past support for Toronto Olympic bids as a private citizen won’t necessarily translate into him signing off on a bid this time around.
The likelihood of the Olympics coming to Los Angeles in 2024 appears to be getting better as the United States Olympic Committee sings the city’s praises, according to the Los Angeles Times.
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Toronto has bid on hosting the Olympics on five separate occasions since 1960, most recently finishing second to Beijing for the 2008 Games.
