LA hopes International Olympic Committee follows the sun for 2024 Games

The IOC sought to address bidders’ concerns by passing “Olympic Agenda 2020”, which reduced baseline expectations for host city venues and established new guidelines to prevent human rights violations.

“This will be an Olympics that will change our lives”, Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti said during a ceremony to unveil the logo and slogan.

“Coming from different starting points, for all four there is a clear focus on sustainable development, legacy and in particular how the facilities are going to be used after the Olympic Games”, said IOC President Thomas Bach in a statement. The host city will be elected by the International Olympic Committee in Lima, Peru, in September 2017.

London is the only city to host the Summer Games three times, and Los Angeles could make history by joining it. Paris is also a proven, pristine site, though it hosted the Summer Olympics far longer ago in 1900 and 1924.

Los Angeles officials are adamant their city can host the 2024 Games while remaining under budget. Organizers want the “first energy positive” Olympics, including using solar power. Boston earlier announced its bid to hosting the event, but later on declined and was replaced by Los Angeles as USA’s entry. Much of the spending went toward long-term development of the Black Sea resort.

Organizing committee LA 2024 accompanied the new campaign with a fresh logo, which draws from the city’s athleticism and optimism, along with its literal name, the City of Angels.

The announcement came as part of the first stage of the Olympic bid process, “Vision, Games Concept and Strategy”, which LA was required to submit by today.

“There is no stronger image for our City of Angels than its sunny ideal weather, and there’s no stronger metaphor for reinvention than our city’s biggest star: the sun”, Wasserman said last night, according to KPCC. The final dossiers on Games delivery, experience and venue legacy are not due until February 3, 2017.

Hamburg, Germany, was initially among the five finalists, but it withdrew its bid this past November after a slight majority of citizens voted against it. All four candidates are expected to go the distance, although the executive board can cut a city if it fails to meet basic requirements.