The French capital of Paris looks set to host the 2024 summer Olympics after the Californian city of Los Angeles agreed to drop out of the race, in favour of staging the 2028 Games.
Paris and Los Angeles were the only remaining candidates for the 2024 Games, but the latter has struck a deal with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that will open the way for it to instead host the 2028 Olympics.
Should the deal gain approval from the Los Angeles City Council and U.S. Olympic Committee board of directors, this would enable the IOC, Paris and Los Angeles to enter a three-part agreement to allow the IOC to award the Games to each city.
The IOC is scheduled to vote on the host for both the 2024 and 2028 Games at a meeting in Lima, Peru, in September.
IOC president Thomas Bach said: “The IOC welcomes this decision of the Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Candidature Committee, and we are pleased to release the host city contract 2028 in a transparent and timely manner.
“Los Angeles presented an excellent candidature that embraces the Olympic Agenda 2020 sustainability priorities by maximising the use of existing facilities and encouraging the engagement of more youth in the Olympic Movement.
“Therefore, we are very happy that, as part of this Host City Contract, we are able to increase the access of the city’s youth to sport, and encourage the healthy lifestyle of Angelenos for the next 11 years.”
The Los Angeles bid for the 2024 Olympics included plans to use mainly existing and temporary venues around the city. The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was in line to serve as the main athletics for the Games and may still do so for the 2028 Olympics.
Other listed venues for the Los Angeles Games include Dodger Stadium, home of Major League Baseball franchise the LA Dodgers, as well as the StubHub Center, which hosts the home matches of Major League Soccer Club LA Galaxy.
Meanwhile, the Paris 2024 plan includes using the Stade de France (pictured) as the main, centrepiece venue for the Games, with nine temporary facilities and three new venues to be built to help host the Olympics.
Image: Poudou99
