LA 2024 pledges to connect the Games to the future in its IOC bid book

For Immediate Release

February 3, 2017

Contact: +1 424-320-4513

Bid leaders, Olympians, Paralympians and hundreds of Angelenos celebrate LA's Olympic spirit and mark submission of LA 2024's bid book to the IOC

Visit www.la24.org to view LA 2024’s bid book

"Follow the Sun" celebration photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHskNknvkM

Bid book photo: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1356850/LA2024bidbook.gif

LOS ANGELES - Hundreds of Angelenos joined Olympians, Paralympians and LA 2024 bid leaders in front of the iconic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a sunrise celebration of Olympic spirit, fitness and healthy living, marking the submission of LA 2024's bid book to the International Olympic Committee and the start of international promotion in the bid process on February 3.

In its final deliverable, LA 2024 pledges to connect the Olympic and Paralympic Games to the future with a high-tech, low-risk, sustainable and athlete-led Concept that serves the Olympic Movement far beyond 2024.

LA 2024 will deliver lasting benefits to the Olympic Movement in three ways:

• LA 2024 will project credibility and fiscal responsibility, with a sustainable, proven plan that maximizes the city’s existing world-class assets, requires no new permanent venue construction, optimizes conditions for National Olympic Committees and their athletes.

• LA 2024 will help grow every Olympic and Paralympic sport in the $250 billion US sports market and around the world, connecting International Federations with America’s 100 million young people, creating state-of-the-art sport presentations, and tapping into the great reservoir of national public affection for the Games.

• LA 2024 will foster a new, enduring connection to the world’s youth via the unique intersection of technology, entertainment and new media expertise found only in LA and California.

LA 2024’s athlete-led Games Concept, developed in consultation with over 500 US and international athletes, creates ideal conditions for peak performance. The Candidature File sets out strategies for elevating the athlete experience to new heights, with significant budget dedicated to athlete-centric innovation and personalized services instead of complex construction projects.

LA 2024’s existing Olympic Village on the UCLA Campus, which already serves 16,000 students from around the world every day, will deliver high-quality accommodation, leading-edge sports technology and an unprecedented variety of entertainment and dining options. Athletes will be supported on every step of their Games journey by an Olympic Village Council and LA 2024’s digital "Athlete Concierge" – a one-stop live information service, dynamic ticketing portal and athlete-only social network. LA 2024 will offer athletes a re-imagined friends and family ticketing and accommodations program, alongside an innovative career transition program for retiring athletes that taps into California’s world-class universities. 100 percent of athletes will have access to elite training facilities either at the Olympic Village or at their competition venue.

LA 2024 aims to ensure more nations win medals than ever before at the 2024 Games, and has allocated a budget to support NOCs in their "Road to Tokyo 2020" and "Road to LA 2024" preparations. LA 2024 will provide coordinated, subsidized training opportunities for their athletes at the many high-performance facilities in Southern California, including the world-class Chula Vista training center, and across the United States.

LA 2024’s Games Concept features four innovative Sports Parks, broadening and amplifying the traditional Olympic Park Concept used so effectively in London and Rio. Each LA 2024 Sports Park will include multiple sports venues within walking distance, a live celebration site, dining options, Olympic and Paralympic sports showcases and partner activations all integrated within a single secure perimeter. The Olympic festival atmosphere and dynamic ticketing model will ensure every athlete competes in arenas packed with passionate and engaged fans.

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti said: "As LA 2024 enters the international campaign, it's important for us as a city to remember just what we’re bidding for: the world’s greatest sporting event, significant economic benefits, and a chance to place LA’s extraordinary creativity and innovation at the service of the Olympic Movement. But perhaps above all else, Los Angeles is bidding to unite the youth of the world in friendship and peace through sport in 2024.

"As the IOC considers the future of the Games after Olympic Agenda 2020, I hope they are looking for a partner who dreams as big as the Games deserve. If they do, then LA is the place to be in 2024."

LA 2024 Chair Casey Wasserman said: "LA 2024 does not need to construct a single new permanent venue if we are given the honor of hosting the Games. That means we will have the luxury of two things many Organizing Committees do not have: time and resources. So we can focus on the things that really matter, like creating personalized services to ensure athletes have the experience of a lifetime in our Olympic Village. LA 2024 won’t spend the next seven years building expensive new stadiums or an Olympic Village: we’ll spend the time and resources coordinating pre-Games training opportunities, developing a Games-changing digital Athlete Concierge, creating career transition programs – and anything else the athletes of the world need to be at their very best when the biggest day of their lives arrives."

USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said: "The U.S. Olympic Committee is excited about the prospect of deepening our cooperation with National Olympic Committees from around the world by welcoming them to the United States on the Road to Tokyo 2020 and LA 2024. The Olympic Movement is founded on the spirit of international exchange, and I believe LA 2024’s pre-Games training initiatives will help set new universal standards in coaching, management and elite performance for NOCs worldwide.

"LA 2024’s Games Concept guarantees every NOC that their athletes will have everything they need to fulfill their potential at the Games."

For more information visit LA24.org.

LA 2024 can also be found on the following social media channels:

Twitter.com/LA2024

Facebook.com/LA2024

Instagram.com/LA2024

YouTube.com/LA2024

Snapchat.com/add/la2024

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