2024 and 2028 Olympic hosts could be announced by IOC next month
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The IOC's decision on whether to award Olympic hosting rights to both Los Angeles and Paris could be announced on June 9.
The IOC said Friday that its executive board will meet in Lausanne to discuss the 2024 and 2028 bid processes, and reforming rules for 2026 Winter Games candidates.
Awarding two Summer Games at the same time to the only two candidates left in the 2024 race is seen as IOC President Thomas Bach's preferred option.
IOC members are scheduled to choose the 2024 host on Sept. 13 in Lima, Peru.
However, Bach asked the board's four vice presidents in March to work together and advise on combining the 2024 hosting award with the 2028 rights.
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The vice presidents' report to the 13-member board — which includes two Americans — is key to the short-notice meeting. Any agreement could be ratified at July 9-12 meetings of the IOC board and full membership.
Leaders of the LA and Paris campaigns will come to Lausanne then to make set-piece presentations of their hosting plan to the voting members.
Even if the double award is agreed to, how to allocate each games to candidates who both want to go first in 2024 could still be left to decide.
The IOC could give about 90 voters a free choice in the Peruvian capital, or a deal could be struck with the two cities.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told reporters at an Olympic sports conference in Denmark last month that his city and Paris could start as "friends not competitors" if invited by the IOC for talks.
Bach upended expectations in what shaped as a tight 2024 race when he said last December that the existing process produces "too many losers."
The IOC leader seemed unwilling to risk either LA or Paris declining a repeat bid for 2028 after losing the 2024 contest.
Rewarding two world-class cities that are low-risk, low-cost options would also give the IOC stability for a decade ahead after a turbulent period in Olympic bidding.
Potential bid cities in wealthy countries such the United States, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden have dropped out when local taxpayers objected or delivered defeats in a referendum. Other cities have been scared off by the spiraling costs and busted budgets reported by recent Olympic hosts.
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