Paris and Los Angeles poised to host upcoming Summer Olympics – PBS NewsHour

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti and Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo gesture after the voting at the IOC extraordinary session in Lausanne, Switzerland July 11, 2017. Credit: REUTERS/Pierre Albouy

Paris and Los Angeles are both poised to host the Summer Olympics within the upcoming decade, in 2024 and 2028, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) agreed in principle Tuesday.

The IOC made the announcement at the SwissTech Convention Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“Ensuring the stability of the Olympic Games for 11 years is something extraordinary,” IOC President Thomas Bach said at the press conference. “That is why we say this is a great day for the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement, and it’s a great day also for these two wonderful cities, these two great Olympic cities.”

Los Angeles and Paris are the only two remaining cities bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics. In recent years, fewer cities have requested to host the international event because of the high costs associated with bidding and hosting the games.

On June 9th, in an unprecedented move, the IOC approved a rule change that allowed it to choose the 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympic host cities simultaneously.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to keep these two big birds in our hand,” Bach said in June. “There is clearly a win-win-win situation. That means for the two cities and for the IOC.”

The committee has not indicated which city will host the games in which year, but 2024 would mark the 100th anniversary of the 1924 Paris Olympics. Granting Paris the Olympics earlier could also serve as a marketing tool to convince other European cities to bid for 2032 and 2036, Bach said.

The IOC has also promised to reform its arduous and costly bidding process in an effort to attract more potential host cities.

A number of cities, including Boston and Budapest, withdrew their bids this year for the 2024 Summer Olympics because of the financial burden. It costs on average $8.9 billion to host the Olympic games, according to a 2016 Oxford University study.

The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, served as a stark reminder of the steep costs. It was estimated to cost $11 billion to host the games, according to a Forbes report.

David Goldblatt, an expert in sports sociology and author of “The Games: A Global History of the Olympics” told CNBC it could cost Brazil even more — as much as $20 billion.

Paris and Los Angeles may not face the same costs because both cities already have the infrastructure, stadiums and other venues in place to host large crowds and numerous sports events.

“In Olympic history there’s only been 37 times in which there has been a tie for a gold medal. Maybe today is the 38th,” Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti said. “For Los Angeles, it’s a golden opportunity, one that we don’t take lightly.”

The Summer Olympics would generate about $18 million overall for the U.S. and $11 million for Los Angeles, according to their proposed plan estimates. It would also create 75,000 jobs and develop $5 billion in additional wages.

If Paris were awarded the games, ninety-five percent of the venues would be existing or temporary, according to a proposal the city submitted to the IOC. A newly-built paralympic village would become 1,500 new homes, and spectators would rely heavily on public transportation.

“I am fully committed with the Paris team to putting all my energy, our creativity and my resolve into reaching an agreement for Paris to experience once again this Olympic adventure that it has been longing for for 100 years,” Paris Mayor Hidalgo said.

The question that everyone is asking is which year either city will host.

The vote to decide the 2024 and 2028 Olympic bid will be on September 13 in Lima, Peru.