The race for the Summer Games in 2024 has not yet officially started. But a strong candidate declared himself on Thursday March 7, 2013. Through the voice of its mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles announced his candidacy. It thus becomes the first metropolis to respond favorably to the letter sent last month by the USOC, the American Olympic Committee, to 35 major cities in the United States.

Information is important. Certainly, the “City of Angels” will undoubtedly have to face other applications before obtaining the nomination from the USOC. We are talking in particular about New York, San Francisco, even Chicago or Dallas. But its declaration of intent, supported by the promise of “enthusiastic interest”, according to its mayor, already makes it one of the favorites. According to the first Californian elected official, the project would be actively supported by actor Tom Hanks and former basketball player Magic Johnson.

If won, Los Angeles would become the second city, after London, to host the Summer Olympics three times. It had in fact been chosen for the 1932 and 1984 editions. In both cases, the ceremonies and athletics events had taken place at the Coliseum, a stadium which could still feature prominently in the candidacy file for 2024.

As a reminder, the United States has not organized the Summer Games since Atlanta in 1996. “Twenty-eight years seems a completely reasonable time frame,” suggests Antonio Villaraigosa. The choice of the host city will be made during the IOC General Assembly in 2017.