GamesBids.com presents the eighth annual Top Ten list of Olympic Bid Stories for 2015. These stories impacted the course of Olympic host city bids, or the Olympic bid process, and formed interesting plot lines and story arcs for the year. We’ll run them down from 10th to 1st as the year ends – click on the links for details.
IOC Executive Director Christophe Dubi presents bid changes at 128th IOC Session (IOC Photo)
#10 – Five Cities Join 2024 Olympic Games Bid
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) introduced a new phase of its bid process, the “invitation Phase”, in January to begin its search for the 2024 host city. For most of the year up until the September 15 cities consulted with the IOC to prepare their bids, or to decline.
Ultimately five cities including Budapest, Hamburg, Paris, Los Angeles and Rome submitted applications, the smallest initial field since the bid for the 1988 Games. Reportedly 2020 bidders Baku and Doha had been discussing 2024 bids but chose not to apply.
Toronto had been seriously considering a bid on the heals of hosting a successful Pan Am Games but declined the opportunity just hours before the deadline. It was later revealed that the Mayor’s fear of overwhelming costs and a potentially embarrassing referendum led to his surprising decision.
The United States originally put forward Boston to bid for the Games, but strong opposition in the city and a potential mid-campaign referendum along with the reluctance of Boston’s Mayor to commit taxpayer dollars to the effort – despite having promised the funding earlier – caused the bid to collapse. Instead, Los Angeles was nominated just days before the deadline.
But now the field sits at four. In November Hamburg 2024 was defeated in a municipal referendum and the bid was forced to withdraw.
The IOC doesn’t elect a host city until September 2017 so the 2024 Olympic bid campaign will remain among our top stories for the next two years.
Watch GamesBids.com or follow us on Twitter or Facebook for Top Bid Stories #10 to #1. They’ll also be listed, as they’re revealed, below.
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A senior producer and award-winning journalist covering Olympic bid business as founder of GamesBids.com as well as providing freelance support for print and Web publications around the world. Robert Livingstone is a member of the Olympic Journalists Association and the International Society of Olympic Historians.
