A day after Los Angeles 2024 bid officials had little to say publicly about a report they were in talks with the International Olympic Committee about shifting gears and hosting the 2028 Summer Olympic Games, L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti seemed to confirm Wednesday that such conversations have indeed taken place.
Garcetti was responding to a question about the Olympic bid during a news conference at the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority on Wednesday when he made his statement.
"As we've talked to the Olympics they've asked us to think about -- both Paris and us -- what would it take for us to consider one of us going first and the other going second," Garcetti said.
"My dream is not so much just to bring the Olympics here, but is to bring youth sports for free to every zip code."
Coupled with Tuesday's report in the Wall Street Journal, Garcetti's comments Wednesday would appear to increase the likelihood that Los Angeles may step aside and allow Paris to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, with Los Angeles then hosting the Games in 2028. It would mark an unprecedented move for the IOC, which never has before awarded multiple Games in a single bid cycle.
Representatives from the mayor's office as well as the LA 2024 bid committee had no additional comment Wednesday. The United States Olympic Committee and Paris 2024 refused to comment Tuesday.
Both Paris and L.A. officials met with IOC leadership during a sports convention in Denmark earlier this month, when it is believed the conversations the mayor referred to Wednesday took place.
Host city bidding has been somewhat of a public relations nightmare for the IOC in recent years, with Boston, Budapest, Hamburg and Rome all closing their bids under mounting public pressure to avoid hosting what many see as a two-week, multibillion-dollar party. In the bidding for the 2022 Winter Games, six European cities also backed out, leaving only the authoritarian, no-referendum-needed governments of Almaty, Kazhakstan and Beijing, China, as the final candidates. (Snowless Beijing eventually won.)
IOC president Thomas Bach has been eager to capitalize on Paris and Los Angeles offering impressive yet fiscally responsible bids from democratic, western countries by awarding both cities a Summer Games. Bach asked four of the IOC's vice presidents to explore how such a move would potentially work.
"We are in an exceptional position with regard to 2024," Bach said at a news conference earlier this week. "In the Olympic movement, we should be like an athlete: never complacent. We are very happy with the choice for 2024, but we would not be in sport if we did not at least explore how to even improve the situation -- to make it even better by a potential double allocation."
What will it take to get a deal done?
Garcetti also seemed to confirm a report that funding for Los Angeles area youth sports could be part of the negotiation. He said Wednesday he wanted such funds to be distributed "right now." The democratic mayor also seemed to suggest that landing the Games during a Donald Trump presidency -- while helping Los Angeles youth at the same time -- would be a huge win for his city.
"Given some of the challenges we face globally right now with leadership, that would be I think quite a coup and something for us all to celebrate," Garcetti said.
The IOC will meet June 9 to discuss the findings from a working group composed of the body's four vice presidents that Bach asked to explore the possibility of awarding two Olympic Games at once. Bach is expected to support the proposal, with others likely falling in line.
In July, IOC members will convene in Lausanne, Switzerland, to vote on the proposed procedure. It is there where leaders of both the L.A. and Paris bids are expected to make their final presentations to IOC members. The winner was expected to be announced Sept. 13 in Lima, Peru, but now that may be nothing more than a coronation for both cities.