Despite Olympics cost, Donald Trump backs LA 2024 bid
President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his support for Los Angeles’ bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, which officials say will be an economic success despite the financial shortfalls that recent host cities experienced.
“Working hard to get the Olympics for the United States (L.A.). Stay tuned!” Trump wrote on Twitter.
Trump’s post came hours after Los Angeles bid committee officials presented their plan to host the 2024 games to members of the International Olympic Committee. The IOC is set to decide Tuesday whether Los Angeles or Paris will earn the right to host the event, with the other city expected to be awarded hosting rights for the 2028 Olympics.
Concerns about the sheer financial cost of hosting the Olympics led several prospective bidders, including Boston, Rome, Hamburg and Budapest, to withdraw their interest. Los Angeles and Paris are the only two remaining bids.
The Los Angeles bid committee says the area’s existing stadium infrastructure will help to keep costs reasonably low and on budget. LA 2024 projected last December that the event would cost about $5.3 billion, but officials said revenue from broadcast rights, sponsorships, ticket sales and other streams would allow the city to break even, the Los Angeles Times reported.
"We are offering a city ready to go. We are offering a Games with no incremental costs. We are offering a lasting definition of Olympic sustainability,” LA bid Chairman Casey Wasserman said during a press conference, according to Reuters.
Los Angeles previously hosted the Olympics in 1984 and 1932. The 1984 Olympics are regularly cited as one of the few times the mega-event generated an economic windfall for its host city. Other recent efforts, such as the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were marred by budget overruns.
Rio Olympic officials face an estimated debt of $35 million to $40 million from last year’s event, according to the Associated Press.