LA ‘delighted’ with IOC report verdict

Los Angeles 2024 chiefs yesterday welcomed an International Olympic Committee report on the city’s bid for the Games ahead of a key meeting next week. The IOC Evaluation Commission report lavished praise on Los Angeles and rival bidder Paris, stating there was “very little to separate” the two bids.

Commission chairman Patrick Baumann said members of the IOC panel had described Los Angeles’s bid as “forwardlooking,” “innovative,” “vibrant” and “cool”. LA 2024 chairman Casey Wasserman expressed gratitude for the IOC report in a statement.

“We are delighted that our efforts have resonated so clearly with the IOC Evaluation Commission,” Wasserman said. “We are grateful to Evaluation Commission Chairman Patrick Baumann and his colleagues for their comprehensive, insightful appraisal of our bid.”

Wasserman reiterated that the LA 2024 bid-which will make use of existing or already planned venues and enjoys strong public support-made it an “ideal Olympic city and an ideal partner for the IOC right now.”

The commission’s report will be the key reference document for IOC members in the lead-up to the 2024 Candidate City Briefing on July 11-12 in Lausanne. The final vote to decide the 2024 hosts is scheduled to take place during the 131st IOC session in Lima on September 13.

The IOC has recommended that hosting rights for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics be awarded at the same time at September’s meeting in Peru, in order to exploit the candidacies of Paris and Los Angeles. Paris is widely seen as being the front-runner for the 2024 Games, which fall on the 100th anniversary of the 1924 Olympics in the city, the last time the French capital staged the Games, having also hosted the 1900 edition. Los Angeles has staged the Olympics twice before, in 1932 and 1984. —AFP