Will the third time be the charm?
The mayor of Los Angeles expressed that hope Tuesday, shortly after a unanimous City Council vote cleared the way for the Southern California city to press forward in its quest for the 2024 Summer Olympics. If successful, the bid would bring the Games to Los Angeles for a third time, the others being in 1932 and 1984.
“This is a great day in the history of LA & the future of the American @Olympics & @Paralympic movement!” Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted.
Los Angeles is a late contender in the field and not even the U.S. Olympic Committee’s first choice.
In January, Boston was selected as the country’s pick to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. But, faced a lack of public enthusiasm for the endeavor, the Massachusetts city dropped out of contention in July.
“As we reflected on the timing and the status of our bid in this international competition, we have jointly come to the conclusion that the extensive efforts required in Boston at this stage of the bid process would detract from the U.S.’ ability to compete against strong interest from cities like Rome, Paris, Budapest and Hamburg,” Boston 2024 Partnership chairman Steve Pagliuca said at the time.
“For this reason, we have jointly decided to withdraw Boston’s bid in order to give the Olympic movement in the United States the best chance to bring the Games back to our country in 2024.”
This opened the door for other cities such as Los Angeles, especially give some perceptions that America might be due to host another Summer Olympics. The last time that happened was in 1996 in Atlanta.
Still, there wasn’t a lot of time to join the fray: There is a September 15 deadline to submit bids to the International Olympic Committee, with the ultimate pick being appointed in 2017.
Despite these challenges, Los Angeles stepped up with what the USOC described as an “environmentally sustainable bid” that would use many existing venues rather than having to build them all.
“L.A. has the proven experience in hosting the Games, and knows how to deliver world-class events for athletes and an extraordinary experience for fans,” USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said in a news release. “Coupled with the city’s culture of creativity and innovation, we are confident LA can deliver an outstanding Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024.”