A bid from Paris for the 2024 Olympic Games overcame a significant hurdle today as the city’s councillors voted in its favour.

The next step will be a public consultation before a final decision on the bid will be made in June. 

A recent national opinion poll found that 61 per cent of the French public would be in favour of Paris hosting the Games.

"Now we are off on an Olympic adventure," said Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris.

According to local sources, 163 city councillors voted overwhelmingly in favour of bidding for the 2024 Olympic Games, with support coming from the majority of political parties. 

President Francois Hollande, who publically backed the bid in November, is due to meet with IOC president Thomas Bach on in Lausanne on Thursday to discuss Paris’s potential candidacy.

Paris last hosted the Olympic Games in 1924, which would make 2024 a centenary event for the city.

It last bid for the Olympic Games in 2012, which went to London despite Paris being the early favourite.

Bernard Lapasset, vice president of the French National Olympic Committee, presented a report to Hildago and the government on Thursday. 

"France has the qualities to win," he said.

If the public consultation works out in favour of the bid, Paris would join Rome, Hamburg and Boston in a competitive race. 

The Indian Olympic Committee is also said to be considering a bid for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Once a city has announced a bid, it can work with the IOC through its new “invitation phase” of the Olympic bidding procedure. The deadline for applying to bid for the Games is September 15th 2015.

German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) has selected Hamburg instead of Berlin as the city it will take forward to bid for the 2024 Olympic Games, citing public support as the decisive factor. 

Subject to ratification by the DOSB board on 21 March, the northern port city of Hamburg will join Rome and Boston in the race to host the 2024 Olympic Games.

The vote was cast by the executive board of the DOSB. 

"We agreed by majority for the city of Hamburg and that is why we are standing here today, united, with this recommendation," said Alfons Hörmann, the DOSB president, who chose not take part in the vote himself for “reasons of neutrality”.

Recent opinion polls have demonstrated that public support for a Games bid is significantly higher in Hamburg than in Berlin. 64 per cent of Hamburgers support the bid, compared to just 55 per cent of Berliners.

"There were various points that helped us make our decision," Hörmann said. 

"We had to consider the prevailing support in the cities, and the result of the survey was one of the things that played a role here."

Hamburg’s compact venue plan was also cited as an influencing factor. Unlike Berlin, Hamburg has no existing Olympic Stadium and plans to build a new one in an island in the city. 

Despite this, the DOSB determined Hamburg’s venue plan to be sustainable. 

"The city fits exactly to the Agenda 2020 reform of the IOC," said Hörmann.

The city of Hamburg will hold a referendum on whether to bid for the Games before 15 September, by which time all interested cities must apply to the IOC.

The German city of Munich pulled out of bidding for the 2022 Winter Games after a residents voted against bidding in a referendum. 

Munich hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1972. Berlin hosted the Olympic Games in 1936, while Hamburg has never hosted an Olympic Games.

The host city of the 2024 Games will be announced in Lima in mid-2017.

The majority of Massachusetts residents support Boston’s bid for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as long as the bid comes at no cost to the taxpayer.

This is the finding of an independent poll conducted by Sage Consulting on just over 1,600 people in the state of Massachusetts. 

While the results of the poll showed overall support for the Games bid, at 55 per cent, it also revealed that a more pronounced majority of 61 per cent are opposed to public spending on the project.

The poll also showed that more people were sceptical about the economic legacy of the Games than those who believed it would bring lasting benefit.

Majority support

The most popular response to the question “how strongly do you support or oppose the bid” was “strongly support”, with 35 per cent ticking this box. With 20 per cent saying they “somewhat support” the bid, the poll showed an overall majority of 55 per cent supporting the bid. 

Support for the bid would not necessarily translate into ticket sales, however. Just 45 per cent of respondents said they would either “definitely” or “probably” attend the Games in person. 

Economic benefit

Slightly more people believed that Games expenditure was “unlikely” to produce lasting benefit for Boston (46 per cent) than those who said this was “likely” (49 per cent). 

In answer to the question about “lasting economic benefit for Boston”, the largest group of respondents (29 per cent) said that this was “very unlikely” while 19 per cent thought it “somewhat unlikely”. 

This means 48 per cent of people thought economic benefit was unlikely, as compared to 44 per cent that deemed it to be likely. 

“Taxpayer dollars”

The strongest opinions revealed by the poll were in response to questions about the financing of bidding for and hosting the Games. 

43 per cent of respondents would “strongly oppose” the use of “taxpayer dollars” to fund the bid. Coupled with the 18 per cent who “somewhat oppose” this, the poll reveals that a clear majority of 61 per cent are opposed to public finance of the project. 

Boston’s bid is planned to be financed privately and, if successful, the bid committee has pledged that any infrastructure projects relating specifically to the Games will be entirely privately financed, However, the poll indicated that 55 per cent believe that “financial support for the Olympics will come at the expense of other worthwhile causes,” as compared with the 23 per cent who believe “most costs will be carried by business”.

Positive start

Public support for the Olympic Games is an important metric on which the bid will be evaluated and the overall support for the bid at this early stage will be seen as a positive.

A recent gathering of opponents to Boston’s bid, organised by “No Boston Olympics”, attracted little more than a hundred people. 

The US Olympic Committee has been quick off the blocks in announcing Boston as its contender for the 2024 Games, with only Rome the only confirmed competitor. 

Germany is expected to put forward either Berlin or Hamburg. A number of other cities and countries are said to be contemplating bidding, including Baku, Budapest, Doha, Istanbul, Paris and South Africa.

The Boston 2024 bid committee has appointed Richard Davey, former Massachusetts Transportation Secretary, as its new CEO. 

He succeeds Dan O’Connell, who successfully led the group that was selected as the US Olympic Committee (USOC)’s contender for the 2024 Olympic Games, against competition from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

“This is a terrific opportunity to build upon all the great work and planning that has already been done,” Davey said in a statement.

“But in many ways this is just the beginning. Over the next year we will be in every community in Boston —and in every region of the state—to get the thoughts and input of the public on what a 2024 Games would look like and the kind of legacy it could and should leave for Massachusetts.”

Davey was appointed Transportation Secretary of Massachusetts Department of Transport (MassDOT) in 2011, a position he held until stepping down in October 2014. 

Before this, he worked for the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company, where he rose to the position of general manager and went on to manage the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. 

The effectiveness of the city’s transport system was a central component of Boston 2024’s submission to the USOC, which highlighted the fact that most venues are within walking distance of public transport. 

Boston’s USOC submission also outlines US$5.2bn of public investment in “existing transport infrastructure” and US$10bn of public investment in “planned transport infrastructure”. 

Dan O’Connell, the outgoing leader of Boston 2024 who previously served as Housing and Economic Development Secretary for Massachusetts, will remain on the bid’s executive committee.

“Dan O’Connell was integral in making the case over the last year that Boston could host a Games that was sustainable, cost-effective, and that would leave a lasting legacy for Boston and Massachusetts,” said John Fish, chairman of Boston 2024 in a statement. 

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) has confirmed that it is not yet considering a bid for the 2024 Olympic Games as it has committed its resources to winning the bid for Durban 2022 and would require further information from the IOC before considering an Olympic bid.

“The bidding process for the CWG requires enormous time, dedication and resources in order for one to put forward a successful bid,” said SASCOC in a statement on Wednesday.

“With our focus solely on delivering the games to the city of Durban, the Board of SASCOC will not be diverted from this mission.”

HOST CITY reported on Monday that a bid for the Olympic Games incorporating cities all over South Africa was being contemplated. This would be made possible through the IOC’s recent Agenda 2020 changes to bidding procedure. 

SASCOC was not able to verify this when contacted by HOST CITY on Monday. 

Shortly after the publication of this report, which was picked up on by various other media, SASCOC issued a statement saying that they were being inundated with queries from media on whether SASCOC is intending to bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games. 

“An Olympic bid is not currently under consideration,” SASCOC confirmed.

“The Board of SASCOC is at this time fully committed to bidding for the Commonwealth Games in 2022. The first step is to win the bid and then to deliver a successful Games,” said Tubby Reddy, CEO of SASCOC.

“The Board has not received any notification or correspondence from the International Olympic Committee with regard to the bidding process for the 2024 Olympic Games. Therefore, the issue of South Africa bidding for the 2024 Olympic Games does not arise.

“Once this communiqué is received, the SASCOC Board will engage with Honourable Minister Fikile Mbalula and National Government on whether one is going to consider an Olympic Games bid in 2024.”

In support of Durban’s bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, SASCOC exhibited at HOST CITY Bid to Win conference in October, which attracted an extremely high level of speakers and delegates including David Grevemberg, CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation. 

Durban faces strong competition from Edmonton in its bid to host the Commonwealth Games. 

“Winning the bid for the CWG will be very significant for the City of Durban, especially as the other city is Edmonton, Canada,” said Reddy. 

“Canada has already hosted the Games four times. We are seriously focused on the prize of winning the bid and we will not be distracted by other issues that have not been sanctioned by the SASCOC Board.”

The host city of the 2022 Commonwealth Games will be elected on 2 September 2015.

SASCOC has until 15 September 2015 to define its applicant for the 2024 Olympic Games. 

The US has officially confirmed that it is bidding for the 2024 Olympic Games but will not reveal its preferred candidate until January 2015. 

Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington DC all presented their plans to the US Olympic Committee (USOC) board of directors on Monday, after a six months consultation programme. 

“At our request, and because of the preliminary nature of our discussions, the cities have not spoken about their bids publicly in great detail,” said USOC CEO Scott Blackmun. 

Panos Protopsaltis – speaker at HOST CITY Bid to Win and Olympic transport expert – is advising the USOC throughout the candidate city selection process. 

Asked to discuss the relative merits of the candidates, Protopsaltis began by talking enthusiastically about Washington DC. “It is the capital city and all central infrastructures are there – not only transport but technology infrastructures, integrated command and control structures.

“Then you have a city like Boston with an economy which is doing very well in a city that is very small – geographically it is the smallest of the four.

“San Francisco is completely different, and then you have LA which is biggest of them all. They are in the middle of a multi-billion dollar transportation programme, upgrading and expanding urban rail systems – that is a programme they have irrespective of the Games.”

City development plans will form an important part of the evaluation of the candidate cities, Protopsaltis said. “Starting as a foundation, what is your plan for the next five to ten years for the city? What changes in infrastructure are you going to make and why are you going to do it?”

“All four cities have presented plans that are part of the long-term visions for their communities,” said USOC CEO Scott Blackmun. 

“At our request, and because of the preliminary nature of our discussions, the cities have not spoken about their bids publicly in great detail. That will be an important part of the process after we make our selection in January.”

The USOC will continue discussion the technical elements required to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games with the candidates in the coming weeks. 

“We are excited to announce our plans to put forth a bid for the 2024 Games and look forward to taking the next step of selecting from a group of four world-class cities to present a compelling and successful bid,” said USOC Chairman Larry Probst.

“We’re grateful to the civic and political leaders in each of the four cities for the partnership that’s been demonstrated thus far, and confident that the deliberative process we’ve put in place is going to result in a strong U.S. bid that can truly serve the athletes and the Olympic and Paralympic movements.”

The deadline for submitting a bid to the IOC is 15 September 2015 and the host city will be elected in 2017. 

The US last hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1996 (Altanta). Los Angeles has hosted the Games twice before, in 1932 and 1984, and win for 2024 would make it only the second city after London to host the Games three times. 

Earlier in the week, Rome officially announced that it will bid for the 2024 Games. Germany is also expected to enter the race, with Berlin the more widely preferred candidate over the alternative, Hamburg.

Several other cities worldwide have expressed an interest, including Baku, Budapest, Doha, Istanbul and Paris. South Africa is also expected to put forward an applicant city.

The South African Olympic Committee is said to be contemplating a country-wide bid for the 2024 Olympic Games, inspired by the IOC’s recent Olympic Agenda 2020 reforms. 

“The country now has taken a different view of it, taking more of a country approach than a provincial,” Ivor Hoff, head of sports at Gauteng Province told HOST CITY exclusively. 

“Because of the new IOC bidding and hosting criteria, the country will take this into consideration.”

Gauteng Province had been mentioned as a potential contender for an Olympic bid. Durban and Pretoria have also been mentioned as possible candidates. 

But now, the South African Olympic Committee is instead said to be reviewing its bid for the 2024 Olympic Games and putting forward a proposal that links a number of host destinations.

“When Sam Ramsamy came back from [the IOC Session in] Switzerland he reported he is going to make a presentation to the South African parliament.”

 As South Africa’s parliament is in recess this week, Hoff expects Ramsamy to make the presentation next week. 

“Sam will make the presentation and decisions will be taken from there.”

HOST CITY contacted SASCOC but Sam Ramsamy was unavailable for comment.

Agenda 2020 opened up the Olympic bidding process to allow for bids to be spread across more than one city. 

“One city was quite a problematic approach, because it could potentially bankrupt that city,” said Hoff.

“A developmental country like South Africa could look at it more comprehensively with several cities – this would be much better for a developmental country like South Africa.”

South Africa has recent experience of hosting a nationwide mega event. 

Ivor Hoff was a key figure in hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, with a particular focus on legacy benefits for health, education and housing.

“Based on a really positive 2010 FIFA World Cup, we’ve got a good understanding of how the country can benefit from hosting major events.”

South Africa has until 15 September 2015 to define its applicant for the 2024 Olympic Games. 

So far, Rome and Boston have announced their intention to bid. The host city will be elected at the 130th IOC Session in Lima on 15 September 2017.

The US Olympic Committee chose Boston on Thursday as the city that will bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, over competing offers from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. 

Boston has proposed a low-cost, regional and sustainable Games in keeping with the ideals of Olympic Agenda 2020, the new framework adopted by the IOC in December within which the bidding procedure for 2024 will operate.

The engagement of public and private stakeholders in Boston’s proposal is said to have outshone its rivals.

“One of the great things about the Boston bid was that the bid leadership and the political leadership were on the same page,” Scott Blackmun, chief executive of the US Olympic Committee told the Boston Globe. 

The White House gave a statement of presidential support for Boston, saying “The city has taught all of us what it means to be Boston Strong” – a reference to the slogan adopted by the city in the wake of the 2013 marathon bombings.

The decision was also welcomed by IOC president Thomas Bach, who said “The Boston bid will be a strong one.”

A major driver behind Agenda 2020 is change perceptions about the cost and benefit of hosting the Olympic Games. Boston proposes to spend just USD4.5bn on hosting the Games, which the bid committee says will be generated from broadcasting, sponsorship and ticketing revenues.

This figure does not include publicly funded investments in civic infrastructure, which the bid committee says the city has already committed to regardless of the Games bid. 

The cost of hosting the Games would be kept down by using existing facilities, including the multi-purpose TD Garden and a number of venues operated by colleges, such as Harvard Stadium, Boston College’s Conte Forum and Boston University’s Agganis Arena.

In a proposal reminiscent of London 2012, Boston’s Olympic stadium would be temporary, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies as well as track and field events.

The US last hosted the Summer Olympic Games in 1996 at Atlanta. Since then the world’s biggest multisport event has been awarded to Asia/Oceania three times, Europe twice and South America once. 

The IOC does not, however, operate a policy of continental rotation and a number of factors will determine which city is selected in 2017 as the host of the 2024 Olympic Games. 

While current round of bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games has suffered from a crisis in appetite for hosting the Olympic Games, particulary in Europe, the race for 2024 is shaping up to be extremely competitive. 

Rome is the only other city so far to have confirmed it will bid for the 2024 Games, but a long list of other cities and regions are in various stages of evaluating and preparing bids. 

Baku, Budapest, Doha, Germany, Hamburg, Istanbul, Paris and South Africa are among the possible contenders. 

The selection of Boston will perhaps be something of a surprise to anyone outside the US Olympic Committee. Los Angeles, which has hosted the Olympics twice before, was the highest profile contender. Advisors to the IOC had indicated that Washington, D.C. had the strongest technical infrastructure. San Francisco is already established as one of the world’s most popular destinations for sports, business and leisure. 

Yet this is another factor behind Boston’s success: the city is new to Olympism, having never hosted or bid for an Olympic Games before. As such, it is less likely to show complacency in its bid, offering fresh pastures in an old city.

One of Boston’s biggest challenges will be garnering public support for the Games. A public meeting has been planned for Tuesday to gather feedback as the first stage of planning for the bid.

Borkai told the MOB’s official website that the Committee still has a long road to travel before a formal bid, but added that “our intentions are unequivocal – we would like to host the best athletes in the world in Budapest”.

The Associated Press news agency added that Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy, head of BOM, a non-profit group of corporations and individuals backing an Olympic bid, said that while a bid for the 2028 Games would be “realistic,” the possibility of trying for 2024 “would not be surprising”.

The Hungarian city of Győr is due to host the summer edition of the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2017 and Borkai believes the event can aid the country’s claims for the 2024 Olympics.

He added: “Győr’s 2017 European Youth Olympic Festival can prove that our country can successfully conduct a major multi-sport Olympic event, even if its size does not compare to an Olympics. We are confident that Győr can provide a positive impression on international public opinion, and make everyone aware that they should invest their trust in us.”

Budapest has previously bid for five editions of the Games, but Hungary has never been awarded the Olympics. 

Paris, Rome, Baku, Doha, Dubai and Istanbul, along with a South African bid, are among those that could enter the race for the 2024 Games.

Germany is weighing up whether to put forward Berlin or Hamburg, while the US Olympic Committee has identified Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C. as candidate cities.

Formal bidding for the 2024 Olympics will begin in 2015, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to select a host city in 2017.

To find out more about bidding for major events, register for HOST CITY Bid to Win at www.bidtowin-hostcity.net.

Tarlós is running for re-election on October 12 and was responding to a question regarding a potential Olympic bid from his main rival, opposition centre-left candidate Ferenc Falus. Tarlós said, according to the Budapest Business Journal, that although the summer Games would have a major impact on tourism and sport in the Hungarian capital, now is not the right time to proceed with such a plan.

Tarlós’ comments come after MOB president Zsolt Borkai last week lent his backing to a possible Budapest bid for the 2024 Games, stating that “concrete steps” could be taken in the near future towards formalising an offer.

While acknowledging that the Committee still has a long road to travel before a formal bid, Borkai had added that “our intentions are unequivocal – we would like to host the best athletes in the world in Budapest”. Attila Szalay-Berzeviczy, head of BOM, a non-profit group of corporations and individuals backing an Olympic bid, said that while a bid for the 2028 Games would be “realistic,” the possibility of trying for 2024 “would not be surprising”.

Budapest has previously bid for five editions of the Games, but Hungary has never been awarded the Olympics. 

Formal bidding for the 2024 Olympics will begin in 2015, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to select a host city in 2017.

To find out more about bidding for major events, register for HOST CITY Bid to Win at www.bidtowin-hostcity.net.