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Only L.A. And Paris Remain In Competition For The 2024 Summer Olympics
(Photo by Mr. Littlehand via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr)
Budapest is set to drop its bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, leaving only L.A. and Paris in the running, reports KPCC.
In a release from Fidesz, the governing party of Hungary, officials espoused a kind of loopy logic for the decision to withdraw from the race. "When the opposition attacked the Budapest bid in the back, it disrupted this unity (of support for the bid) and minimalized the chances of the capital city," Fidesz parliamentary leader Lajos Kosa said in a statement, according to the Associated Press. "Today only one responsible decision is possible to avoid Hungary's loss of international prestige." Which is to say that officials claim their hand was being forced by a group of buzzkills—maybe not the most graceful of exits.
As reported by the L.A. Times, Hungarians opposed to hosting the Olympic Games had collected about 266,000 signatures to force a referendum on the issue. This opposition group was largely comprised of young professionals and students, reports Reuters, which also noted that one survey showed that 56 percent of voters in Budapest were against the bid.
L.A. and Paris will have representatives travel the world to pitch their case to International Olympic Committee members. And, in the coming months, the IOC will be sending evaluation teams to the cities see if they're worth all the hype.
If L.A. does get the Games, we may see a sprawling opening ceremony that will span the city. Planners are hoping to use both the Memorial Coliseum and the upcoming Inglewood stadium in the festivities, with events happening at both sites simultaneously.
The host city will be chosen this September.
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