How the Palace of Versailles May Crush LA's Olympic Dreams
The field of candidates to host the 2024 Olympics has narrowed from seven to five, and LA appears to be a frontrunner. But LA faces stiff competition on its path to Olympic glory from other finalists Paris, Budapest, Hamburg and Rome.
The International Olympic Committee will select the winner in Lima, Peru, in September 2017, based on “sustainability and legacy”—the centerpieces of the IOC’s “Olympic Agenda 2020” reform plan, which seeks to lower the cost for hosting the Olympics.
Paris, the other frontrunner, presents the greatest challenge for LA, with existing landmark venues with their own legacies, including the Seine River, Eiffel Tower and Palace of Versailles.
LA’s $4.1B proposal would utilize Downtown LA’s Disney Concert Hall, the Convention Center and a revitalized LA River. It calls for repositioning Exposition Park as Olympic Park and utilizing Memorial Coliseum as the largest venue; it would be renovated and expanded to create a world-class athletics facility with seating for 80,000 spectators. [BBC]
