L.A. reportedly reached an agreement with Olympic leaders on terms that will "pave the way" for hosting the Summer Games in '28 instead of '24, according to David Wharton of the L.A. TIMES. The deal will bring the Olympics back to Southern California for a third time. It also "opens the door for Paris to host the Games" in '24. It has been expected that L.A. "would agree to go second, if only because local bid officials expressed a willingness to consider the option." Paris officials, by contrast, had "consistently pushed back against waiting another four years." Details of the agreement were not yet available, so it "remained unclear to what extent LA 2024 was able to achieve significant concessions, such as additional funding for operations and youth programs in the city" (L.A. TIMES, 7/31). Under the terms of the Host City Contract 2028, the IOC will advance funds to an L.A. organizing committee in view of the longer planning period and to increase participation and access to youth sports programs in the city in the years leading up to the Games. The IOC contribution as stipulated by the HCC is $1.8B and has the potential to exceed $2B, according to the evaluation of the L.A. bid committee when taking into account the estimated value of existing sponsor agreements to be renewed and potential new marketing deals. The L.A. City Council and U.S. Olympic Committee Board of Directors will consider the agreement for approval in August (LA 2024).
PARIS 2024: In Paris, Sandrine Lefèvre reported a "direct consequence" of the agreement between L.A. and the IOC is that Paris is "assured of hosting" the Games in '24. It will not be official until the vote in Lima, Peru, on Sept. 13, when the 95 IOC members will ratify the agreement and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and French Olympic Committee President Denis Masseglia sign the contract. The Paris bid committee, which was left out of the negotiations between L.A. and the IOC, can "only wait patiently for when it can celebrate" (LE PARISIEN, 7/31).
A VICTORY FOR BACH: In London, Sean Ingle wrote IOC Marketing Dir and senior advisor for the L.A. bid team Michael Payne said the decision is a "triumph" for IOC President Thomas Bach. Payne: “Clearly there were serious concerns with the hosting process after Rio, but Bach’s strategy of locking down Paris and L.A. has ensured that the IOC got two great hosts with the majority of their infrastructure in place.” (GUARDIAN, 7/31)
