The Los Angeles City Council cleared the way for the city to bid on hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics by voting unanimously Tuesday to support it.
Soon after the 15-0 vote, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Council President Herb Wesson were on hand at the Annenberg Community Beach House in Santa Monica with members of the United States Olympic Committee and bid organizer LA 2024 to provide more details about the bid.
“L.A. is Olympics ready,” Garcetti said. “The Olympics is in our DNA.”
The United States Olympic Committee Chief Executive Scott Blackmun acknowledged the committee took a roundabout way to get to Los Angeles – the USOC chose Boston as its host city of choice, but leaders there backed out in July – but said the committee is “beyond thrilled” with today’s results and is “incredibly grateful” to partner with Los Angeles.
While questions were raised about the high cost of the bid – which could come with a $6.4 billion price tag, according to the bid book released last week by the Los Angeles 2024 Exploratory Committee – Garcetti emphasized the bid offers less risk and distinct advantages, including that 85 percent of the Olympic venues already exist or are being built.
Among the existing venues that would be used for the games is the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, which, as it did in 1932 and 1984, would serve as a centerpiece to the games and host the opening and closing ceremonies. Garcetti also cited ongoing renovations at Los Angeles International Airport and the expansion of the region’s passenger rail network as proof of the city’s ability to host the games.
“We have infrastructure in our city that the games can benefit from and not vice versa,” Garcetti said.
During an afternoon media conference call, Wesson said the real work of bringing the games to Los Angeles has just begun.
“The city’s action today was like an engagement, not a wedding, and now we’re in the prenup phase,” Wesson said. “We’re now trying to cut a deal and present to the spouse-to-be an arrangement that’s acceptable.”
The International Olympics Committee had set a date of Sept. 15 for cities to submit bids to host the games. City officials say they will work with the USOC to fine tune the proposal. The IOC will make its selection of the host city for the 2024 games in 2017. Other cities vying for the games are Rome; Paris; Budapest, Hungary; and Hamburg, Germany.
