LA 2024 and USOC Leadership Meet with IOC Regarding 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Application

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, United States Olympic Committee Chairman and International Olympic Committee member Larry Probst, USOC CEO Scott Blackmun and LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman today met with IOC President Thomas Bach in the Olympic capital of Lausanne to discuss Los Angeles’ bid for the honor of hosting the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The United States delegation flew to Lausanne after the launch of the city’s bid to host the Games on Tuesday, September 1. The launch followed the unanimous 15-0 vote by the LA City Council in support of bidding for the Games.

Mayor Garcetti, Probst, Blackmun and Wasserman met with the IOC President and members of the IOC administration at IOC headquarters to discuss their initial Games Plan and how Los Angeles can host the best possible Games for the city, the U.S. and the Olympic Movement worldwide.

Mayor Garcetti said: "It was an honor to meet with President Bach to discuss our initial bid. The Olympics are part of LA’s DNA – and we appreciate the opportunity to share our Olympic passion with the IOC and strengthen a Movement that seeks to unite the world in friendship and peace through sport. After visiting the IOC headquarters, we are fully aware of, and ready for, the hard work ahead of us."

Probst added: "It’s an honor to be in Lausanne to introduce Los Angeles, the official U.S. bid, to President Bach. I would also like to thank the Olympic Movement for its patience, as this has been a very important decision for the future of the Movement in the United States. The LA 2024 bid enjoys the full support of the USOC - our athletes, national, state and regional leaders - and the Los Angeles City Council and residents. Our bid to bring the Games back to the U.S. for the first time in more than a quarter century begins right here, right now."

Wasserman said: "We had a very productive meeting today with IOC President Bach. As this will be the first full Olympic bid campaign conducted under the new Agenda 2020 guidelines, we look forward to showing how a Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Games can produce tremendous benefits for our city, leave a fully sustainable legacy for our residents and elevate the Olympic Movement around the world."

Blackmun said: "With President Bach’s important Agenda 2020 initiative, it’s clear that the IOC wants to partner with a city capable of hosting the Games responsibly, using the Games as a catalyst to further the vision of the city’s future and build a legacy that benefits its citizens and the Olympic Movement as a whole. When we look at LA – and the plans that the Mayor, Casey and the team have built – we see the framework for an ideal match up."

The most recent poll found 81 percent public support for hosting the Games in Los Angeles. Today’s meeting reflects the IOC’s newly created Invitation Phase and ahead of the September 15, 2015, deadline for cities to be officially submitted to the IOC. The IOC will then issue new guidelines to bid cities expected to further bring the bidding process in line with Olympic Agenda 2020 – the IOC's strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement.

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

For more information, contact:

Jeff Millman

800-709-7532

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