Los Angeles city votes to back 2024 Olympics bid

Los Angeles leaders on Tuesday gave unanimous backing to the city's bid for the 2024 Olympics, paving the way for it to enter the race for the Games.

The Los Angeles City Council voted 15-0 in favor of a "joinder agreement" designed to demonstrate to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) that the city was committed to staging the Games."

The USOC is expected to forward Los Angeles -- who have hosted the Games on two previous occasions in 1932 and 1984 -- as a candidate for the 2024 race imminently.

"We are telling the world that we are Los Angeles and we are here to compete," Los Angeles City Council President Herb Wesson told members during Tuesday's hearing.

Los Angeles re-entered the running to be the US candidate for 2024 after original choice Boston withdrew amid fears of taxpayers being left on the hook for cost overruns.

LA24, the nonprofit set up to pursue the Los Angeles bid, last week issued a detailed 200-page draft bid book which bullishly projected the games could deliver a surplus despite a $4.6 billion price tag.

Local businessman and philanthropist Casey Wasserman, the chair of LA24, said an Olympics in Los Angeles "can be and will be the most responsible Games possible."

LA24 said the Games could generate $4.8 billion, resulting in a profit of around $161 million.

Los Angeles city analysts however sounded a note of caution last week, stating it was "difficult to determine the fiscal impact and risk to the city of hosting the 2024 Games at this time."

A review of the budget detailed in the bid book warned that costs for one of the key construction projects, the Olympic Village, may "significantly exceed" the projected $1 billion it was expected to cost.

Tuesday's revised joinder agreement contains wording which allows Los Angeles City ongoing scrutiny of possible bid costs.

"This is the engagement not the wedding -- and now we're in the prenup stages," council leader Wesson said in Tuesday's hearing.

Los Angeles faces fierce competition from other cities which have already entered the race for the 2024 Games, including Paris, Rome, Hamburg and Budapest.

The decision to award the Games will be taken in 2017.

The Los Angeles bid relies heavily on existing venues such as the downtown Staples Center, home of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, which would host gymnastics.

A revamped Los Angeles Coliseum -- the main Olympic stadium used in the 1932 and 1984 Games -- will be at the heart of the Olympics.

The bid also outlines plans to incorporate famous Los Angeles city landmarks and attractions, such as mountain biking in the shadow of the Hollywood sign, beach volleyball on the golden sands of Santa Monica and Hollywood Boulevard hosting the marathon and road cycling.
Source: AFP