CALIFORNIA—The city of Los Angeles has reportedly been in talks with both the city of San Francisco and the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) about the possibility of filing a joint bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
San Francisco had previously been taken out of contention as a solo host city by Boston on January 8. Earlier this week, the city announced it would drop its heavily-debated bid out of concerns for lack of funds and public disapproval, which opened a spot for the U.S. bid city.
It was the leader of San Francisco’s failed campaign, Larry Baer, also the CEO of the Giants, with whom Los Angeles’ campaign head Casey Wasserman reached out to consider his proposal in entering contention together.
According to the SF Chronicle, Baer commented: “I’m not saying we are going to do it, but we are certainly open to discussing it”.
Should the USOC approve the bid and the IOC give the rights to the two California cities to host, it will have the honor of being the first joint bid selected in the history of the modern Olympics.
It would also be the first time San Francisco has hosted a Summer or Winter Olympics events. SF previously submitted a bid for the 2016 Olympics, which ultimately went to Rio, Brazil.
For Los Angeles, it would be just one of two cities to have hosted the Summer Olympics three times, the other being London. By 2024, it will have been its first time in 40 years to host. Los Angeles is currently hosting the 2015 Special Olympics World Games until August 2.
Tokyo is currently preparing to host the 2020 Olympic Games, which were awarded almost two years ago by the USOC. The city previously hosted in 1964.
The winning bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics will be announced in 2017.
