USOC pegs Los Angeles as its candidate for 2024

los angeles» The U.S. Olympic Committee on Tuesday named Los Angeles as its candidate for the 2024 Games, replacing Boston’s soured bid and marking a comeback for L.A.’s dream of becoming a three-time Olympic host.

The announcement by USOC CEO Scott Blackmun came under a summer sun at Santa Monica Beach, where the city’s plan calls for staging beach volleyball on the site where the sport was founded.

“I want to thank Los Angeles for standing up, once again, as America’s bid city,” Blackmun said, adding that L.A.’s proposal squares with the Olympic movement’s goals of watching the bottom line while investing in projects that dovetail with community needs.

Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city was inspired to bring the games back to the U.S. for the first time in 28 years.

“This is a quest that Los Angeles was made for,” Garcetti said. “This city is the world’s greatest stage.”

Earlier Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council cleared the way for Garcetti to strike agreements for a 2024 bid. The 15-0 vote came about a month after Boston was dropped from contention amid shaky public support and questions about taxpayer spending and liability.

Garcetti has said Los Angeles, home to the Olympics in 1932 and 1984, would stage games that are both spectacular and profitable.

The city’s selection as the U.S. nominee marks the start of a two-year competition. The International Olympic Committee will pick the host city in September 2017. Rome, Paris, Hamburg, Germany, and Budapest, Hungary, are also in pursuit of the 2024 Games.

“The focus needs to be on convincing the 55 or so IOC members that Los Angeles is the best city to host the Olympics. That process starts immediately,” USOC Chairman Larry Probst told reporters in a conference call.