Los Angeles is set to host the 2028 Summer Olympics after reaching an agreement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the office of L.A City Council President Herb Wesson confirmed Monday. The deal will be formally announced at a Monday evening news conference and reviewed by the Olympic council later this week. The decision was widely anticipated, given that L.A. and Paris were the only remaining bidders for the 2024 and 2028 Olympic spots. With L.A.’s position confirmed, Monday’s announcement all but secures Paris’s status as the host of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
“This is an historic day for Los Angeles, for the United States, and for the Olympic and Paralympic movements around the world,” Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement. “Today, we take a major step toward bringing the Games back to our city for the first time in a generation and begin a new chapter in Los Angeles’s timeless Olympic story.” Having previously hosted the Games in 1932 and 1984, L.A. is now set to become a three-time Olympic host.
Monday’s decision marks the culmination of a long-running effort on behalf of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to bring the Summer Games back to the U.S. The last time the Olympics were held in the United States was in 1996, when Atlanta hosted the Summer Games. In 2012, New York was short-listed to host the Summer Olympics, but lost out to London after being denied funding for a stadium proposal. Four years later, Chicago was one of three cities under consideration to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, but the final victory ultimately went to Rio de Janeiro. While the USOC originally selected Boston as its candidate for the 2024 Games, the city was forced to pull out in 2015 amid waning public support.