LA city council votes unanimously to bid for 2024 Olympics

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to support the bid for hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) formally named the city as its official bidder for the sporting spectacle.

"It is my distinct honour to formally name the city of Los Angeles as the US bid to host the 2024 Olympics," USOC chief executive Scott Blackmun said here on Tuesday at a beach side news conference about an hour after the council's vote, reports Xinhua.

Los Angeles started the effort after Boston, USOC's initial choice, backed out over concerns about financial liability. Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti pointed to the existing sports venues and other amenities, some of which are already being upgraded, as reasons the city would be a good choice for the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The 1932 and 1984 Summer Olympics were held in Los Angeles and the city just hosted the Special Olympics in July. If the city wins the bid, it will join London as the only cities to host the Summer Olympics thrice.

LA24, a non-profit organisation set up for the bid, estimated the cost for hosting the 2024 Games would be $4.1-$4.6 billion and the revenue from the Games could be $4.8 billion, resulting in a profit of at least $161 million going to LA24.

The budget anticipates the IOC will contribute $1.5 billion, or 31 percent of the revenue, with domestic sponsorships and ticket sales making up the other two-thirds. The bid packet also included details about how the Olympics might be operated.

The USOC will submit the US proposed city to the IOC before the September 15 deadline. The IOC is expected to take a final decision on the host city in September 2017. The Summer Olympics were last held in the US in 1996 at Atlanta.