Los Angeles has seen unprecedented economic progress since the time they hosted the Olympics in 1984 and at a time when most cities in America believe that hosting the Summer Olympics is a needless economic drain, LA has pushed the boat out to win the bid for the 2024 Olympics.

The delegation sent by the International Olympic Committee concluded its observations on Thursday and the city is quite hopeful that when the final voting is conducted in September; it will pip Paris for the honor. The United States Olympic Committee had earlier earmarked Boston as the city to host the 2024 Olympics in its initial bid but opposition from local stakeholders scuppered the bid and paved the way for Los Angeles.

Most Olympic infrastructure is still intact

Considering the fact that most of the infrastructure built for the 1984 Olympics is still intact, it is only logical that the Californian city was chosen as the replacement once Boston pulled out. Eric M. Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, seemed upbeat at the prospect of hosting the event and said, “Los Angeles is one of the few places in the nation and the world that can pull off an Olympics that is fiscally responsible and that is ready to go whenever we get the green light. We do big events here every year all the time. It’s kind of second nature to us." This was reported by The New York Times.

Former Los Angeles City Council member Zev Yaroslavsky shared his thoughts on the developments as well.

“As one of the 1984 Olympics skeptics — who said let’s not take any chances, let’s make sure the city is not be exposed — I have a lot of confidence that with fiscal discipline, they can do this right. There is no organized opposition to this in L.A. People have a very fond memory of the ’84 Games. I certainly do.

2028 is also a possibility

Over the years, the number of cities to choose from as host cities for the mega event has shrunk and there is a possibility that the committee might announce the hosts for both 2024 and 2028 Summer Olympics; with Paris and Los Angeles being the cities to get one apiece.

Although 2024 is the preferred option for both cities; 2028 is also a possibility.

There is a consensus that the terror attacks in Paris could be a trigger for the committee to award the hosting privileges to Paris in 2024 and the 2028 event to Los Angeles. Additionally, the possibility of US President Donald Trump inaugurating the 2024 event might also put off the committee from awarding the event to Los Angeles.

The New York Times reported that David Wallechinsky, who heads the International Society of Olympic Historians, said as such, “I think that Paris gets the nod in 2024 and L.A. in 2028. And, yes, Trump does not help. That’s very clear.” Be that as it may, but the Olympics is definitely coming back to Los Angeles.