Los Angeles council to vote on 2024 Olympics bid next week

Los Angeles council members will vote on the city's bid for the 2024 Olympics next week after a panel on Friday gave its backing to the proposals.

The Los Angeles City Council's Ad Hoc Committee on the Olympics approved a "joinder agreement" designed to demonstrate to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) that the city was committed to staging the Games.

The full council briefly discussed the committee's vote on Friday but delayed a final decision until Tuesday in order to give members more time to study the detail of bid documents issued earlier this week.

Obtaining full backing from Los Angeles's council is seen as an important step towards securing nomination as a 2024 candidate by USOC.

Los Angeles re-entered the race as a potential US candidate after Boston -- the city originally chosen by USOC in January -- pulled the plug on its bid in the face of public opposition related to costs.

Boston's bid collapsed when both the city's mayor and the governor of Massachusetts declined to give their support because of fears that taxpayers could foot the bill for cost overruns.
A bullish Los Angeles bid book published this week projected an Olympics held in the city would cost $4.1 billion and deliver a surplus of $161 million.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has been a vocal supporter of the bid, immediately indicating the city would be willing to step in after Boston's bid collapsed.

Any Los Angeles bid still faces several hurdles however.

It must first win support from the USOC, who have until mid-September to nominate a US city with the International Olympic Committee.

If nominated, Los Angeles would also face fierce competition from other cities which have already entered the race, including Paris, Rome, Hamburg and Budapest.
Source: AFP