IOC board to discuss awarding 2024 & 2028 Olympics at same time

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday said its executive board will discuss the viability of awarding hosting rights of the 2024 and 2028 Olympic Games at the same time in June.

According to an IOC statement, the executive board will meet in Lausanne, Switzerland on June 9 to discuss two reports from the Working Group currently looking into the candidature procedure, one on the Olympic Games 2024 and 2028, the other concerning the reform of the candidature procedure to be applicable to the Olympic Winter Games 2026, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Working Group, made up of four IOC Vice Presidents, has been tasked with exploring how to make the candidature procedure more proactive, more collaborative and less expensive in the future.

Los Angeles and Paris are the two remaining candidate cities for the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games after withdrawal of Rome, Hamburg, Boston and Budapest.

IOC President Thomas Bach favoured the idea of a double award in an attempt to avoid leaving the other city as a loser for the 2024 Olympics bid. He said last December that the existing bidding procedure has produced "too many losers".

Bid committees from Los Angeles and Paris made it clear that they only focus on 2024 and do not want to wait for another four years. If the IOC decided to award the two Olympic Games at the same time to Los Angeles and Paris respectively, it would still be upon decision on who could win the hosting right of 2024 as both are fantastic cities with different cultural and historical background.

After recent inspection work by IOC Evaluation Commission, Los Angeles and Paris are heading for their next stage, the presentation to IOC members in Lausanne in July.

The IOC members will vote for the host city of the 2024 Olympic Games at their session in Lima, Peru on September 13.

--IANS

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