The olympics of 2028 will be held in Los Angeles

Photo: Fabrice Coffrini Agence France-Presse
The mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, shaking hands with the president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, earlier in July

Los Angeles — The city of Los Angeles has entered into an agreement with the international olympic Committee (IOC) to present the summer olympic Games of 2028, on Monday. The organization will pay US $1.8 billion to the organizing committee.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the afternoon, the IOC has indicated that, as compared to the contract with the host city for the olympics of 2024, the IOC has made two major changes.

“The IOC will fund the organizing committee of Los Angeles given that the planning period will be longer, in order to increase the participation and access to sports programs for young people in the city of Los Angeles in the years leading up to the olympics “, could one read in the press release.

The pact which will be formally unveiled later on Monday came in the wake of a vote held within the IOC earlier this month to find a ground for the award of the summer Games of 2024 and 2028.

Paris is considered the favorite for the obtaining of the olympic games of 2024.

By way of a press release, the organizing committee of Paris has welcomed the announcement of Los Angeles, but has refused to confirm that Paris was in the process of obtaining the organisation of the games of 2024.

“Paris 2024 is proud to work with the IOC and our friends from Los Angeles in order to find a favourable solution to the two cities, the Games and the olympic movement as a whole for 2024 and 2028,” said the co-chair of the organizing committee, Tony Estanguet.

Under this agreement, Los Angeles will host the games in 2028, a third time in its history, after the olympic Games of 1932 and 1984.

The office of the president of the city Council, Herb Wesson, has confirmed the information on Monday.

The spokesman Caolinn Mejza said that the agreement will be submitted to the council later this week.

Under this pact, Los Angeles “is a giant step toward the return of the olympics in our city for the first time in decades,” said the mayor, Eric Garcetti, by way of a press release.

He called the day “historic for Los Angeles, for the United States,” and the olympic movement.

Los Angeles and Paris were the last two candidate cities after a process tumultuous, during which many cities have expressed their reluctance to untie the purse strings in order to organize a sporting event which has the reputation of exceeding the financial forecasts.

Los Angeles was not even the first choice in the United States to organize such an event. Boston was withdrawn two years ago after public support has collapsed because of concerns about the use of taxpayers ‘ money to cover the costs of operation. Accordingly, the application of the us is gone from the east coast to the west coast, and Los Angeles has been retained.

But the concerns of the taxpayers of Boston have quickly found echo in those of the three other candidate cities to the european, which are eventually removed.

To make matters worse for the president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, who has set up the 2020 Agenda for reforms aiming at a reduction of the costs of organization of the olympics following the fiasco of the Sochi Games in 2014, the first city to withdraw was at home, in Germany.

The lack of political unity has forced Hamburg to withdraw, just as Rome and Budapest a little later. The taxpayers, as well as the elected officials of these cities, neither would obviously not expose yourself to the possibility that the costs of the organisation of the games explode, without having an economic impact significant.

As was the case for the awarding of the winter Games of 2022, which was decided between Beijing and Almaty, Kazakhstan, the IOC is left with only two candidate cities.

Since the two cities of international reputation were the olympic games of 2024, Bach has realized that France and the United States could be put off by the prospect of having to undergo another selection process for the obtaining of the olympic games of 2028, in case of defeat.

The granting simultaneous games in 2024 and 2028 will allow the IOC to get a few more years before having to re-test the international interest for the organization of the summer olympic Games of the 2032.