For the first time in the campaign to host the 2024 Summer Games, the world’s Olympic community is converging in one place this week. And the U.S. has home-field advantage.
More than 1,000 senior officials from 206 countries will gather at the Washington Hilton in D.C. for the Association of National Olympic Committees’ general assembly, the first time the U.S. has hosted in 21 years. Dozens of International Olympic Committee voters will be among the guests.
Officially, the meeting has nothing to do with the 2024 campaign. Bids aren’t on the agenda and explicit campaigning is discouraged. But leaders of each of the five bid groups are slated to attend, including Los Angeles co-chairs Casey Wasserman and Mayor Eric Garcetti.
With still nearly two years before an IOC vote on the 2024 Games, bid leaders will use a light touch, working the hallways, developing friendships and saving hard sells for later.
“L.A. is here to listen and learn,” said LA 2024 spokesman Jeff Millman. “This is one of our first opportunities to meet Olympic leaders from around the world and listen to them. The goal is always to understand what is important to the Olympic family, especially the athletes, and what steps we can take as we develop our bid to align with those interests.”
The U.S. was awarded ANOC hosting rights in 2013 after U.S. Olympic Committee Chairman Larry Probst pitched the group, long before the 2024 contest took shape. Probst, CEO Scott Blackmun and IOC/USOC board members Anita DeFrantz and Angela Ruggiero will all attend.
Last year, ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah told Inside The Games that he hoped the Washington gathering will be “the return of the U.S. to the sports movement,” after settling a long-running dispute with the IOC.
“For any country who is wanting to raise their profile on the international stage, whether it’s to attract events or just to increase influence, hosting these conferences is a very useful platform,” said Michael Payne, former IOC chief marketer and Olympic business consultant.
Attending from the other bid cities:
■ Paris 2024 CEO Etienne Thobois and co-President Tony Estanguet are coming with French Olympic committee President Denis Masseglia and his team.
■ Hamburg 2024 CEO Nikolas Hill and deputy general manager Bern-hard Schwank are traveling with Michael Vesper, chairman of the German Olympic Sports Federation and staff.
■ Rome 2024 bid President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo and Italian National Olympic Committee President Giovanni Malagò will be leading the Italian delegation.
■ Hungarian officials did not reply to questions about specific attendees, but the Hungarian contingent is expected.
