Paris 2024 & LA28: The $1.8B Deal That Saved the Olympics

On July 21, 2021, at the 131st IOC Session held in Lima, Peru, Paris was selected as the host city for the 2024 Summer Olympics, and Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

At the moment of the announcement, Paris Mayor Hidalgo wore an expression of deep emotion, while cheers erupted from the venue and applause filled the air.

Behind that smile lay the “crisis threatening the Olympics’ survival” that had kept IOC executives sweating bullets.

Once called the golden ticket, the right to host the Olympics was fiercely contested by cities worldwide. Yet this time, cities around the globe withdrew one after another, pushing the host selection to the brink of collapse.

This episode unravels the blank period that decisively changed the relationship between the IOC and host cities.

The Moment the Host Cities Were Announced

President Thomas Bach stood on stage with Paris Mayor Hidalgo and Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti. Following a show of hands by IOC members to award the 2024 Games to Paris and the 2028 Games to Los Angeles, the decision was announced immediately.

• 1:30:02 IOC members’ show of hands vote on host city allocation
• 1:31:18 Host city announcement (first in French, then in English)

“I have the great honor to announce that the International Olympic Committee has simultaneously elected the host city of the games of the 33rd Olympiad 2024, and the host city of the games of the 34th Olympiad 2028. PARIS 24, LOS ANGELES 28!”

“Paris’s Losing Streak”… Paris bid for the 1992 Games over 30 years ago but lost to Barcelona. It suffered repeated defeats thereafter, finally realizing its long-cherished dream after three decades. So what happened during these 30 years? Take a look here.

404 NOT FOUND | Olympic Legacy: Past & Future

Reliving the winning moments and planning your next Olympic trip.

Olympic Legacy: Past & Future

404 NOT FOUND | Olympic Legacy: Past & Future

Reliving the winning moments and planning your next Olympic trip.

Olympic Legacy: Past & Future

Domino Effect of Withdrawals — Democracy Rejects the Olympics

The race to host the 2024 Games was initially expected to be a glamorous contest among numerous prominent Western cities: Boston, Hamburg, Rome, Budapest, and Paris.

However, once the bidding race began, the situation took a turn for the worse (for the IOC).

A domino effect of candidate city withdrawals commenced.

Boston’s Rebellion: “We Won’t Hand Over Taxpayers’ Wallets”

The first domino to fall was Boston, the heavy favorite.

The citizen group “No Boston Olympics” spearheaded a powerful opposition campaign, prominently featuring detailed financial risk analysis results. Mayor Marty Walsh responded by declaring,

“I cannot sign a contract that uses taxpayers’ wallets as collateral”

marking the first withdrawal decision.

Hamburg’s Rejection: “Refugee Aid Comes First”

Germany’s Hamburg proposed a compact plan, but the referendum result was 51.6% against.

At this time, Europe was in the midst of the storm of the Syrian refugee crisis.

“The massive budget should be used for refugee aid and welfare, not the Olympics.”

This was the answer delivered by the will of the people.

Rome’s Change of Heart: “We Don’t Need a Cathedral in the Desert”

In Rome, Italy, Virginia Raggi, elected mayor from the new Five Star Movement party, immediately announced the withdrawal of the bid.

She dismissed the massive Olympic facilities as

“cathedrals in the desert” (useless white elephants)

and resolutely rejected the Olympics, stating, “Rome cannot take on more debt.”

Budapest’s Final Blow: “Hospitals, Not Stadiums”

The final blow came from Hungary’s youth. The political group Momentum Movement rallied behind the slogan

“Hospitals, not stadiums,”

gathering over 260,000 signatures in just 30 days. Cornered, the government chose to withdraw without even holding a referendum.

Paris’s Persistence and Los Angeles’s Calculation

As rivals dropped out one after another, only two cities remained at this stage: Paris and Los Angeles (replacing Boston).

If the losing city declared “we will never bid again,” the IOC would permanently lose one of its strongest future candidate cities. Cornered by this situation, President Bach steered the process toward an unprecedented “simultaneous decision” to “secure both birds in hand”.

The focus shifted to “which city would host first,” but this is where their mutual calculations began to clash.

Paris: “It must be 2024 or it’s meaningless.”

Paris insisted unequivocally on hosting in 2024.

They had non-negotiable reasons:

• The historic significance of marking 100 years since the 1924 Paris Olympics
• A real estate constraint: the land use rights for the planned Athletes’ Village were not guaranteed beyond 2024

Los Angeles: “We can wait four years. But…”

Meanwhile, Los Angeles had adopted a “No Build” strategy, planning to utilize existing facilities for all events, meaning it had no construction deadline. However, Los Angeles began negotiations with the IOC with the stance:

“We can wait four years. But in return, we expect commensurate compensation.”

They played their cards shrewdly.

.8 Billion in Compensation

As a condition for Los Angeles accepting the 2028 Games, the IOC offered unprecedented compensation. This was a victory for Los Angeles and led to President Bach’s “Win-Win-Win” statement.

Massive Financial Support

The IOC has promised Los Angeles payments totaling $1.8 billion (approximately ¥200 billion), exceeding the amount allocated to Paris ($1.7 billion). Depending on the status of sponsorship agreements, the total amount is expected to surpass $2 billion.

Unprecedented Advance Distribution Funds

Typically, distribution funds from the IOC are paid after the Games conclude. However, as an exception this time, $160 million (approximately ¥18 billion) was paid in advance years before the Games.

Los Angeles will use these funds to launch the “PlayLA” program.

Starting 11 years before the Games, the city created an environment where local children could learn swimming and tennis for under $10 or free. By 2024, over 500,000 children had benefited, already beginning to transform the city of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Keeps All Profits

Under traditional contracts, the IOC collected 20% of any surplus generated from Games operations. However, the IOC waived this 20% entitlement for Los Angeles.

If the city operates within budget and generates a surplus, all profits will belong entirely to the City of Los Angeles and the U.S. Olympic Committee.

The Olympics Shift from “Bidding” to “Negotiation”

The simultaneous decision for 2024 and 2028 marked the moment the IOC accepted a policy shift: abandoning its top-down model of selecting host cities and instead negotiating on equal footing with the cities. This change was driven by a wave of anti-Olympics movements led by residents.

In response, Los Angeles effectively played the card of offering a later hosting date, securing massive funding and establishing a new model called “Pre-Games Legacy” that delivers benefits to residents even before the Games begin.

The 2028 Los Angeles Games may be remembered not just as a sporting festival, but as the catalyst for redefining what a major event should be – one welcomed by residents, the city, and the IOC alike.

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Without a doubt, the biggest climax of the Olympic bid process is the moment when the host city is announced and the crowd erupts in jubilation.

Click here for a roundup of all the decisive highlights that made history.

Watch the Moments Olympic Host Cities Were Announced

Watch historic videos of Olympic host city announcements. Relive the dramatic IOC pauses, the jubilation, and the fierce bidding wars behind the scenes.

host-cities.windcastor.com

2026.04.27