Paris and LA to host Games

– The International Olympic Committee (IOC) agreed yesterday to award the 2024 and 2028 Games at the same time, effectively guaranteeing that Paris and Los Angeles will be the hosts.

The French capital is heavily favoured to stage 2024, with the California metropolis having hinted that it was prepared to wait four more years.

The two cities were the remaining candidates for the 2024 Olympics, a contest that IOC boss Thomas Bach said created “a golden opportunity”.

The Olympic movement has had increasing trouble attracting prospective hosts given the soaring costs and taxpayer support needed to put on the Games.

Paris and Los Angeles mounted progressive, exemplary bids that would trim costs by using existing facilities, the IOC said, making clear that it did not want to reject either candidate.

Bach lobbied for a double hosting plan, which won unanimous approval from IOC members at a meeting yesterday.

Bach said he wants a “tripartite agreement” before the IOC’s main annual meeting in Peru’s capital Lima on September 13, when a vote on the 2024 host had been scheduled. –

Lausanne