L.A. Gets Green Light To Host 2028 Summer Olympics

Los Angeles on Monday received the official approval to host the 2028 Olympics, following an evaluation from the International Olympic Committee.

Los Angeles Olympics Hosting Bid News

The IOC will award the 2024 Summer Olympics to Paris after the two cities emerged as the top contenders for that event.

After originally bidding for 2024, Los Angeles has now been forced to make changes to its host contract. The city cut a deal with the IOC in July to host the 2028 Olympics should it not be awarded the 2024 Games.

The IOC’s evaluation commission signed off on those changes Monday, although some details need to be finalized.

Los Angeles received concessions for agreeing to host four years after 2024, including receiving a portion of the IOC’s surplus from the Olympics to fund youth sports programs in the city.

The city will also receive up to $2 billion from the IOC, which is up to $300 million more than it would have obtained for 2024.

The 2024 bidding process originally began with five cities, although the IOC then considered a dual award after Hamburg, Rome and Budapest all withdrew from the process.

IOC President Bach expressed discontent with a bidding process he claimed “produces too many losers,” and said the committee would seek a “win-win-win” solution.

According to USA Today, a Loyola Marymount University poll from August revealed 83 percent of L.A. residents supported hosting the Olympics in 2028.

The last Olympic Games held in the U.S. were the Winter Games in Salt Lake City in 2002. The last Summer Games in the country took place in Atlanta in 1996.

LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – JULY 10: IOC President Thomas Bach shakes hands with Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti on July 10, 2017 in Lausanne, Switzerland. (Photo by Robert Hradil/Getty Images)