IOC praises Los Angeles and Paris after initial 2024 review

The "creativity and strong legacy focus" of both Los Angeles and Paris has been praised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Evaluation Commission for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games after they completed an initial two-day review.

The two cities are the only candidates for 2024 in what was originally a five-horse race before the withdrawal of Hamburg, Rome and Budapest, reports Xinhua news agency.

"The Commission's work is just beginning, but it is already clear that both candidates have embraced the spirit of Olympic Agenda 2020," Patrick Baumann, the Swiss IOC member who replaced Frankie Fredericks as chair of the Evaluation Commission earlier this month, said on Thursday.

"Both proposals incorporate well-known locations in these two great cities, and would deliver an excellent experience for athletes, spectators and other Games participants," he added.

"We are looking forward to taking a closer look at these two strong candidates during our site visits, to see in more detail how these well-developed plans would come to life at Games time and leave sustainable legacies."

The IOC Evaluation Commission is due to visit the Californian city from May 10 to 12 before it travels to the French capital for an inspection between May 14 and 16.

They will then report to the whole IOC membership at a Candidate City briefing, scheduled to take place in Lausanne on July 11 and 12.

A choice is to be made between the two at the IOC Session in Lima on September 13.

--IANS

pur/dg