LIMA, Peru (Reuters) — Paris was awarded the 2024 summer Olympics bid and Los Angeles the 2028 Games bid on Wednesday (September 13), with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) breaking with decades of tradition to vote on a unique double allocation.
Paris, which has hosted two previous Olympics, will stage the event 100 years after its last Games in 1924.
Los Angeles will also organize its third Games after 1932 and 1984.
IOC President Thomas Bach embraced both cities’ mayors on stage after a unanimous show of hands by IOC members ratified the awards.
The IOC decided in July to award both Games at the same time, following the withdrawal of four of the six cities’ bidding for the 2024 Olympics, amid concerns about the size, cost and complexity of organizing the world’s biggest multi-sports event.
Los Angeles then dropped its bid for the 2024 Olympics, for which it had been campaigning for over two years, in return for receiving the 2028 edition.
This paved the way for Paris as the sole 2024 bidder to win the Games unopposed.
LA mayor Eric Garcetti said he was happy to find the process of applying for the Games was ‘clean and clear’ and not ‘tainted.’
He also advised cities applying for the Games to be mindful of costs and not be ‘overly ambitious.’
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo spoke of her delight at the French capital claiming the 2024 Games bid, and said the victory was for all of France.
