Though most probably saw it coming, the IOC officially announced it will award both the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games simultaneously during the summit in Lima, Peru, on September 13th.
The notion of awarding both iterations of the Games first came up in March when IOC President Thomas Bach took a creative interpretation of an IOC rule stating that a future Olympic city must be chosen 7 years out from the Games it will host. While the LA 2024 and Paris 2024 organizing committees approve of awarding both versions of the Games simultaneously, neither is ready to concede 2024.
Los Angeles and Paris will continue campaigning for the privilege of hosting the 2024 Games, though LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman has said Los Angeles is not opposed to hosting 2028. Paris, on the other hand, has repeatedly stated that it must host 2024, because if it does not, the land earmarked for the Olympic Village will no longer be available. LA, meanwhile, will not build any new infrastructure for the Games, and would use UCLA’s dorms to house athletes.
Regardless of which city gets 2024 and which gets 2028, both will win the right to host one of the next three Summer Olympic Games–the 2020 Summer Games are taking place in Tokyo. LA and Paris have received much praise for their bids, which have heavily drawn on suggestions made in the Olympic Agenda 2020, putting great emphasis on environmental and economic sustainability and community inclusion.
In June, IOC President Thomas Bach and US President Donald Trump met at the White House to discuss the LA 2024 bid. Prior to meeting with Bach, Trump had claimed numerous times to be in favor of bringing the Games back to LA in 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron has also voiced his support for Paris 2024 and met with IOC officials when they visited Paris in May, shortly after his election.
Earlier today Trump tweeted about bringing the Olympics back to the USA:
Working hard to get the Olympics for the United States (L.A.). Stay tuned!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 11, 2017
Macron has also been tweeting about Paris 2024:
#Paris2024 : We are ready to celebrate sport, culture and olympic values. Ready to share! pic.twitter.com/crk4JmAQIg
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) July 11, 2017
Despite speculation that Trump’s travel ban might impact the IOC’s decision and sway the vote in favor of Paris, the IOC has refrained from commenting on the legislation.
The IOC’s full press release regarding the decision to award the 2024 and 2028 Games simultaneously is below:
IOC makes historic decision in agreeing to award 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games at the same time
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today unanimously agreed in principle to award both the Olympic Games 2024 and 2028 at the same time, paving the way for a “win-win-win” situation for the Olympic Movement, Los Angeles and Paris.
The 130th IOC Session met today at the SwissTech Convention Centre in Lausanne to discuss the proposal made by the IOC Executive Board on 9 June.
The IOC membership approved the following proposal:
“Recognising the exceptional circumstances and unique opportunities presented by the candidatures of Los Angeles and Paris for the Olympic Games 2024, the International Olympic Committee takes the following decision:
1. To authorise the IOC Executive Board to conclude a tripartite agreement with Los Angeles and Paris and their respective NOCs for the simultaneous election of the host cities of the Olympic Games 2024 and 2028 during the 131st IOC Session in Lima;
2. Should such tripartite agreement be concluded, the 131st IOC Session will ratify the tripartite agreement, thereby electing one city for the Olympic Games 2024 and the other city for the Olympic Games 2028. To that effect, the 130th IOC Session hereby waives the seven-year deadline set out in Rule 33.2 of the Olympic Charter; and
3. Should such tripartite agreement not be concluded, the 131st IOC Session will proceed with the election of the host city 2024 in accordance with the current election procedure.”
Seconds after this decision, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo signalled their desire to reach an agreement by making a surprise joint appearance before the Session to thank IOC Members.
Earlier in the day, the delegations of Los Angeles 2024, led by Mayor Garcetti, and Paris 2024, led by the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, made outstanding and emotional presentations at the 2024 Candidate City Briefing.
IOC President Thomas Bach called the IOC decision a “golden opportunity” for all concerned.
“Ensuring the stability of the Olympic Games for 11 years is something extraordinary,” the IOC President said later at a press conference with the two mayors and leaders from the two candidatures. “That is why we say this is a great day for the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement, and it’s a great day also for these two wonderful cities, these two great Olympic cities,” he stressed.
President Bach added that it was only the second time he had been stunned into momentary silence by good news, the first being after he was elected IOC President in 2013.
The two mayors said they were eager to start their discussions over which city would go first and expressed confidence that they can reach an agreement.
“In Olympic history there’s only been 37 times in which there has been a tie for a gold medal. Maybe today is the 38th,” Mayor Garcetti said. “For Los Angeles, it’s a golden opportunity, one that we don’t take lightly.”
Mayor Hidalgo said: “I am fully committed with the Paris team to putting all my energy, our creativity and my resolve into reaching an agreement for Paris to experience once again this Olympic adventure that it has been longing for for 100 years.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said earlier that he had signalled his support for a dual award even before the IOC formally approved the concept.
“We are ready to work with them on this ‘win-win-win’ approach,” President Macron said.
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The IOC Newsroom: http://iocnewsroom.com/
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I was really looking forward to not traveling for the 2024 Olympics and just saving up for event tickets, so I was hoping for LA2024. However, I have to agree with the consensus, it looks like it’s going to be Paris 2024. I’m not so bummed though. With good planning, a trip to Paris might actually happen in 2024.
Correction. July 14th is the day after tomorrow. And by criminal I think about environment and health care.
About the agreement, I’m curious to see what they mean by agreement. LA accepts to let Paris host in 2024 but what do they get in return? In an agreement there are 2 happy sides. They want money?
Time to stop the farce. Everybody knows for a very long time that Paris will host the olympic games in 2024 and LA in 2028. There’s no more competition since LA has said it will not refuse 2028.
And the incompetent, crazy, misogynistic, racist, criminal, illegitimate, pathological liar, anti-people, anti-freedom press and national traitor of Washington addicted to twitter has nothing to do with that. What a fraud! 😆 If he worked hard for LA he would have been present yesterday in Lausanne. On the other hand I’m sure that the LA delegation was pleased he didn’t come. He’s so rejected and hated. I can’t still believe that Macron has invited him tomorrow at the military parade of July… Read more »
There were, apparently, some cities/regions who were at least investigating a 2028 bid The public appetite, at least in Western Europe, has probably soured towards such bids but Madrid at least was seriously looking. Toronto was a possible as were Buenos Aires and Brisbane. Busan was the most likely from Asia but there was some talk of a joint Kuala Lumpur/Singapore bid.
These are all now dealt out of the equation, as to whether any will “re-set” for 2032 is open to specuation … who knows indeed if the entire 5 Ring Circus will still be in business ?
Bobo is spot on. It will be Paris 2024 & LA 2028. This is all a well communicated plan for an ‘IOC Reset’ initiative. The IOC has exhausted the hit-and-run methodology: conspire with countries/cities which look to the Olympics as a magnet for economic development & global status for an emerging regional city. That really did happen twice in Barcelona & in Sydney. Otherwise, not so much. Even Donald Trump could get a wager correct once in eight where the probability going in is once in two. It should be a fair bet to pull off the Olympics at a profit, & yet the IOC’s instincts led them to Rio in the midst of a geopolitical & economic bender.
The… Read more »
Joel, with due respect, I attended all Summer Olympics from 1984 to 2012 (except Seoul) and I’m not entirely sure I’d call it “salad days”. Of these I’d rate London & Sydney on par at the top of the tree then Barcelona, Beijing and Seoul were very efficient but perhaps lacked that little “human factor”.
There is, in fact, more than a little rose coloured nostalgia when it comes to LA 1984. Yes, it may’ve run a profit but via doing an awful lot “on the cheap”. A number of the facilities were barely adequate at best. It also needs to be recognised that the Olympics then was maybe 2/3 the size of what we know now; both in… Read more »
It seems that our petit ami français has a full blown case of TSD (Trump Derangment Syndrome).
I wonder if Monsieur Gigi is familiar with the “Lucy holds the football for Charlie Brown” routine from the “Peanuts” cartoon strip, in which Lucy makes a promise and then at the last moment pulls the ball away Charlie. This happened in July 2005 when the Paris Committee thought it had the 2012 bid all locked up, and the IOC was won over by the smooth-talking Tony Blair.
BTW, I was in Lausanne, Switzerland last week and went to the International Olympic Museum. Quite an inspirational visit. Well worth attending if you’re in the area.
I have always wanted to see the museum. Very envious but in a positive way.
Haha, they aren’t giving the Olympics to the US under the possibility of a president trump.
Love the way Trump is claiming he is working hard to ……oh forget it. Even I can’t say it.
And he’ll take all the credit when LA are announced as 2028 hosts. Must be really difficult to win a 2 horse race when there’s two winners prizes being awarded.
Hope LA gets 2028 so I have a chance of maybe traveling to the games