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IOC Plans To Award 2024 And 2028 Games Simultaneously, All But Guaranteeing A Spot For L.A.
Photo by Jason via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
The International Olympic Committee announced a plan on Friday to award both the 2024 and 2028 Olympic bids during their September vote, all but guaranteeing that one of those Olympics will come to Los Angeles.
The IOC will vote on the proposal in July; if they approve the proposal, official negotiations will begin to award both bids simultaneously.
IOC President Thomas Bach announced the news in a press conference, elaborating that the first step of the process is getting approval by members of the IOC. He explained how the committee "has spoken to both cities, but we haven't negotiated [official terms]," adding that the negotiations will come only if the IOC approves the proposal. In response to whether this is an appropriate move for the Olympic Committee, Bach responded by saying the IOC "wants to make this change and can make this change without amending the olympic charter, which according to this report is flexible enough [for this amendment]."
The ride to LA 2024 has ramped up in recent months, but there was speculation that questions over L.A.'s public infrastructure (the construction of new rail lines, for instance) and President Trump's position on climate policies could influence the IOC into awarding the 2024 games to Paris and the 2028 games to Los Angeles.
Ed Hula, editor in chief of Around The Rings, spoke to Curbed and said the board can make changes to the announced proposal but "'it would be unlikely' that the committee would outright reject the idea of awarding both the 2024 and 2028 games this year."
L.A. has been open to the possibility of hosting the 2028 Olympics. LA 2024 chairman Casey Wasserman said, "To be blunt, LA 2024 has never been only about L.A. or 2024," according to the L.A. Times. Mayor Eric Garcetti has echoed this sentiment, but added that he hoped for extra funds from IOC to build youth sports programs, should the Committee decide to push the L.A. games to 2028. Ben Bergman of KPCC reports that Bach doesn't believe in the idea of awarding L.A. concessions if they accept the deal to host in 2028 instead of 2024, and that in an "ideal world," the committee, Paris, and L.A. would come to an agreement before the September vote. Both cities remain open to hosting for either 2024 or 2028.
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