You have to go back to 2002, Salt Lake City, to find the last time the Olympics was held in the United States.
The last Summer Games? Atlanta in 1996.
This year’s games will be held in Rio. In 2020, they’ll be in Tokyo. 2024 hasn’t been decided yet. Los Angeles really wants it.
“The sun has always been a symbol of hope; of change and of the future. So in 2024 we invite the world to follow the sun,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti, City of Los Angeles.
“Our city is already home to more than 1,000 Paralympians and Olympians. Our city has a long and proven commitment to this movement and what it is all about. It’s about changing lives for those who participate, as well as those who come,” he said.
They’ve come twice for the Olympics. Los Angeles first hosted the Summer Games in 1932, then again in 1984. And it’s in the running to host the games in 2024, along with three European cities: Budapest, Paris and Rome.
“One question, do we have a sustainable bid? Well, as you know, 97 percent of the venues that LA needs for the games in 2024 already exist. They are being planned or they’ll be temporary,” said Angela Ruggiero, LA 2024 Board of Trustees.
Los Angeles actually put in a bid for this year’s games, 10 years ago, however, the United States Olympic Committee instead chose Chicago as its applicant city. If Los Angeles wins the bid for 2024, it’ll be just the second city to host the Olympics three times, after London.
Nine-time Olympic Gold Medalist Carl Lewis would like to see that happen.
“You know, every time I come to this city I’m just swept away by the river of emotions from the ’84 games. I have not spent one day in Los Angeles without someone walking up to me and saying ‘I remember the games, I went to the games, I saw the games.’ So it still sits in the fabric of every single person who lives in this city,” said Lewis.
Bidding for the 2024 Games started last year. Next year, September of 2017 is when the host city will be announced.
