IOC Announces Plan to Award 2024, 2028 Olympics in September

(Bloomberg) -- The International Olympic Committee laid the groundwork to award both the 2024 and 2028 Summer Games later this year but didn’t say which of the remaining two host candidates -- Paris and Los Angeles -- would get to go first.

After an executive board meeting at IOC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, President Thomas Bach outlined the proposed plan, which calls for the full membership to approve making the joint award at an extraordinary session in July.

Bach praised both Paris and Los Angeles, saying that having two such strong bids “represents a golden opportunity for the Olympic Games.” A joint award would be “a strong symbol of stability,” he added.

Behind the recommendation is an uncomfortable reality for the IOC. Cities aren’t lining up to host the games the way they once were. The 2022 Winter Games were awarded to Beijing after several cities dropped out of contention, and the number cities vying for the 2024 Games has dwindled to two.

Bach also made clear that the IOC won’t have detailed discussions with Los Angeles and Paris until the membership approves a joint award. Ideally, he said, the two cities and the IOC could come to an agreement about which city would go first, “an agreement which makes each of the parties a winning partner.”

“So far, we’ve had very interesting discussions, very fruitful, very positive discussions, which lead us to believe that in case the IOC members agree in July, we can achieve such an agreement,” he said. Neither city has closed the door on waiting until 2028.

The IOC is scheduled to vote in September in Lima to award the 2024 Games. If it approves a plan to make a double award, it’s not clear how the IOC will choose which city will go first or what the members will vote on in the fall.

To contact the reporters on this story: Janet Paskin in New York at jpaskin@bloomberg.net, Ira Boudway in New York at iboudway@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Janet Paskin at jpaskin@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum