Paris in 2024, Los Angeles in 2028: How to save the Olympics from extinction – Salon

The first modern Olympic Games started in Athens on May 25, 1896 under the old calendar, which is April 6 of today, thus marking the 121st Anniversary of the modern Olympics.

The last successful tournament was in London in 2012. Today, the Olympics is in crisis and requires a major rethink to ensure a stellar future.

Unlike the Football World Cups or Euro championships, which are multi-billion businesses sustained by national leagues and dramatic qualifying matches, the Olympic Games are a make-or-break event once every four years.

Paris or LA?

Neither Paris nor Los Angeles will bid again in 2028 if they are eliminated from the summer 2024 Games. Thus, it would be best to award both Games in the above order to both nations this September — with a little leaning on two new presidents in France and the United States to agree.

What the Olympic Movement needs today is a historic brand value. This can be achieved by commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Paris 1924 Summer Games. After that, LA could come to the rescue of the Olympics, as it did in 1984 amidst the politically motivated boycotts of the Games during from 1976 to 1984.

If the United States and France cannot agree upon who goes first, members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) can be asked to vote on the order.

The current crisis

A petulant insistence on just “Me,” and “Moi” will throw the IOC and the Games concept into a dangerous existential spin. The IOC needs to safeguard its position and use this time not just to rethink its existence but also understand its global TV audience.

Waning interest in hosting the Games and candidate dropouts have put the current bidding process into doubt. Five countries dropped out of the bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics, mostly after public opposition.

Beijing ended up beating Almaty and Kazakhstan. However, none of that trio is a stellar winter Games location. Hamburg, Rome and Budapest dropped out of the 2024 Summer Games well into the candidature process as concerns mounted over costs and public opposition.

The debacles in Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 fueled further concerns over the viability of hosting the Games under their current structure.

Not just a sporting event

An immediate fix of the current three-stage candidature process should require the aspiring hosts to conduct a referendum at the conclusion of Stage 1.