A cross-border bid by San Diego and Tijuana, Mexico to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games may be in jeopardy when the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) said international rules won’t allow two countries to mount a joint bid.
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner and Tijuana Mayor Carlos Bustamante had just announced they were naming a cross-border planning committee within the next week and unveilling a logo.
On Friday Scott Blackmun, the USOC’s chief executive, said that the committee was talking to 10 cities about a possible bid, including a San Diego-Tijuana bid, but that the committee hadn’t looked carefully at the cross-border proposal, saying it would “have its challenges”.
Following more research the USOC’s chief of protocol and bids, Christopher Sullivan, called Filner’s liaison to the committee Tuesday to say the International Olympic Committee charter doesn’t allow for bordering countries to host Summer Games, said USOC spokesman Patrick Sandusky.
Sandusky added, “there’s not opportunity for them to bid together”.
Filner reportedly said he was “undaunted”, adding that “the true spirit of the Olympics embodies my conviction that we should vigorously pursue the dream of having two countries host the Olympics in the greatest bi-national region of the world. Rules and bylaws can be changed”.
