Other Canadian Cities Potentially Hosting the Olympics in 2024
Based on a review of available public media sources, EY has concluded as follows:
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Quebec City had initially planned on submitting a bid for th
e 2022 Olympic Winter Games. However, it is no longer
interested in hosting the 2022 Games and has withdrawn its name from consideration.
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It appears that no other Canadian city has expressed an in
terest in hosting either the 2022 or 2024 Olympic Games.
Based on the factors above, it appears that the City would have no significant competition in obtaining COC approval to submit
a
bid for the 2024 Olympic Games.
Other Non-Canadian Cities Considering Hosting the 2024 Olympic Games
On September 7, 2013, Tokyo, Japan was announced as the Host City for the 2020 Olympic Summer Games. The table below sets
out the hosts of the Olympic Summer Games since World War II.
Of the 19 Summer Olympic Games listed above, 8 have been held in Europe. The Summer Olympic Games are held in Europe every
2 or 3 Olympic cycles, although there is no guarantee this would happen in the future. If the Games were awarded to the City,
this
would be the largest post-War stretch without a Summer Olympic Games being held in Europe i.e. a minimum of 3 Olympic Games
in a row without one being held in Europe.
In media releases immediately following the winning bid announcement, the following were provided as key elements of the bid
submitted by Tokyo:
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Japanese stability was an important aspect of the bid and it was seen as a “safe pair of hands”;
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The Tokyo bid was financially the most appealing given its reasonable scope;
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Japan does not have significant doping concerns compared to the other nations; and
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Japan’s bid presentation was very well received by the IOC de
legates and is thought to have been a significant deciding
Based on media searches conducted by EY, we have identified
a number of cities that may be considering hosting the 2024
Olympic Games. However, given the early stage of bidding for the
Games, EY cautions that this list is preliminary only and that a
large number of changes are likely. A summary of each city can be found in Appendix “F” to this Olympic Report:
Istanbul, Turkey
Madrid, Spain
Paris, France
Berlin, Germany
Kiev, Ukraine
Durban, South Africa
Nairobi, Kenya
Guadalajara, Mexico
St. Petersburg, Russia
Doha, Qatar
A U.S. City
The following U.S. cities are considering a bid:
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Boston
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Washington
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Los Angeles
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New York
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San Francisco
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Dallas
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Philadelphia
While Toronto has many people with extensive bid experience, and the benefit of the Toronto 2008 bid documentation and
planning, there is no certainty that Toronto can mount a winning bid. While there are a number of countries which will consider a bid for 2024, the likely competitors will be one of the European cities which lost for 2020 and a U.S. city. The most significant competition for Toronto would likely be a U.S. city as the summer games have not been held in North America since 1996. A U.S. city will be strong competition for Toronto, especially if it is in the Eastern Time zone as a host city in the Eastern Time zone will have a significant impact on television ratings/revenues. We note that Atlanta won in 1996 beating Toronto by one vote; however, there were many issues with the handling of the Atlanta games which may play in Toronto’s favour.
In addition, a review of the pattern of continental rotation for the summer games indicates that the summer games have never gone more than 12 years without a summer games in Europe. As the 2016 games are in Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 games will be in Tokyo, the historic pattern of summer Games would seemingly favour a European bid for 2024. However, there is no certainty that this will occur.
Finally we note that:
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If Toronto does not bid for 2024 and the Games are awarded to a U.S. City, it is likely that Toronto will not have a reasonable chance of winning until at least the 2036 Summer Games;
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The bidding process is uncertain and winning can result from good campaigning or by mistakes/weaknesses from the other bid cities; and
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It is possible that most of the bid costs can be covered through corporate sponsorships, although significant work will be required to obtain such sponsorships. Sponsorships ahead of the Games being awarded were common with the bid by Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. For example, Telus was a sponsor of the bid committee but did not ultimately win the right to sponsor the organizing committee once the Winter Games were awarded to Vancouver.
Profiles of Potential Competing Cities:
Washington, DC, USA
We have identified the following considerations
in respect of a potential bid by Washington, DC:
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Washington, as home to the seat of U.S. government, may have significant advantages in terms of security costs as much of
this is already embedded in the city’s infrastructure.
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Having the Games in the U.S. capital could be seen as being a significant positive by the IOC. However, given the U.S.
reputation around the world, this could just as easily work against a bid from the U.S.
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The level of violent crime in Washington is significantly higher than that of Toronto. However, given that the 2016 Games
were awarded to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this may not be a significant factor.
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Washington does not have significant experience in running la
rge scale games. A successful Pan Am experience could be a
significant advantage to the City.
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Washington, based on its U.S. location, may be seen as more attractive in terms of television revenue.
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Washington has excellent transportation links internationally, although Toronto is also strong in this area.
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The last Olympic Summer Games in North America were in Atlanta, another U.S. city, and this could work against a bid from
Washington.
Boston, United States
We have identified the following considerations in respect of a potential bid by Boston:
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Boston has undertaken legislative actions to enable it to bid for the 2024 Games, although final approval is still to be
approved.
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Many of the same considerations in respect of Washington’s geog
raphic location also apply to Boston. It is also close to a
large number of U.S. media outlets, which would presumably enhance coverage of the Games.
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Boston, like Washington, has never organized a large sporting event on the scale of the Games. As such, a successful Pan
Am games for Toronto could be a significant advantage.
City of Toronto
Feasibility Study in Respect of Hosting the 2024 Olympic Games
107 | Subject to the terms of reference on pages 2, 3 and 4.
Los Angeles, United States
We have identified the following considerations in respect of a potential bid by Los Angeles:
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The mayor of Los Angeles has formally expressed an interest in hosting the 2024 Olympic Games.
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Los Angeles has hosted the Olympic Games twice before, in 1932 and 1984. The 1984 are one of the most successful
Games to date from a profitability perspective.
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Having the Games a third time may work against a bid from Los Angeles. However, having successfully organized a Games
before could work against the city.
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The fact that Los Angeles is on the west coast of North America could lessen television revenue. However, it could be
possible to schedule events such that this impact is minimized for the larger population on the east coast.
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Los Angeles is a geographically large city that is well develope
d. This could work against a Los Angeles bid as the venues
may be some distance apart and the IOC has recently chosen cities that hold “compact” Games.
Dallas, United States
We have identified the following considerations in respect of a potential bid by Dallas:
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Dallas has formed an exploratory committee to study the feasibility of hosting the 2024 Games.
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There are a large number of stadia in the Dallas area, which could be attractive for the Games. However, as most are
currently designed for other sports, they would need to be renovated to be usable for the Games.
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Dallas has an extremely hot, humid summer climate. This wo
uld compare unfavourably to a Toronto bid, as it could be
prohibitively hot to hold some outdoor games. As an exampl
e, the local Major League Baseball team does not play during
the day due to the excessive temperatures.
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Dallas has identified Fair Park, an area just outside downtown, as the principle Olympic venue.
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Dallas has hosted the FIFA World Cup as part of the United States’ tournament in 1994, so it does have large organizing
experience. That being said, single World Cup games are signif
icantly different than a two week Olympic Games. 1994 was
also another era in terms of security, so this will need to be addressed if Dallas is to bid.
Philadelphia, United States
We have identified the following considerations in respect of a potential bid by Philadelphia:
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The Mayor of Philadelphia has expressed an interest in hosting the 2024 Games.
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Philadelphia is in a very densely populated area of the United States which will be very useful when it comes to ticket sales.
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Philadelphia does not have significant experience in organizing large scale events, although there are a large number of
professional sports teams in the area.
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Philadelphia shares the geographic criteria of both Boston an
d Washington and benefits from the same positives as those
two cities.
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Philadelphia has previously bid on Olympic Games, although
it lost out to Chicago in the bidding for the 2016 Games.
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Philadelphia compares well to Toronto in terms of international transit links.
Guadalajara, Mexico
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Guadalajara has previously hosted a well-run Pan Am Games (i
n 2011) and has experience in organizing large scale events.
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Significant upgrades to municipal infrastructure were
undertaken and transportation links are up to date.
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The last Games in Mexico were in 1968 which could be an ad
vantage over a Toronto bid, as Canada has had several Games
since that time.
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Given that Guadalajara is not in the Eastern time zone, it may be less attractive for television sponsorship. However, the
time difference is not that great and could likely be overcome.
Nairobi, Kenya
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In August 2012, the Prime Minister of Kenya indicated that Na
irobi would be putting forth a bid to host the 2024 Games.
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The Olympics have never before been held in Africa
and this may be an attractive venue for the IOC.
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Infrastructure and transit links in Nairobi do not compare well to Toronto, nor does Nairobi have significant infrastructure to
be able to host the Games.
Durban, South Africa
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The South African Olympic Committee has begun a feasibility study to examine the impacts of hosting the Games in
Durban.
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Durban has experience organizing large scale events, as it was host to World Cup matches in 2010.
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As part of the World Cup, the main stadium in the city was renovated, but the capacity is only 54,000, so work would need
to be done to expand it for the Olympics.
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Similar to Nairobi, Durban may be an attractive location for the Games given that they have never before been held in
Africa.
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Hotel rooms in Durban do not compare favourably with Toronto’s 36,000 rooms.
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Toronto’s transportation infrastructure is better than that of Durban.
Doha, Qatar
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Doha has previously bid on Olympic Games and has indi
cated a willingness to bid for the 2024 Games as well.
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The summer climate in Doha is not conducive to the Games
being held in their traditional time period, as daytime
temperatures can reach 50 degrees Celsius. The 2022 FIFA World Cup has been awarded to Qatar and there has been
significant outcry given to the local climate.
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Doha is a very wealthy per capita nation, although the population
is less than 2 million people overall. Consideration should
be given to whether a nation of this size has the ability to host a successful Games.
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Given the upcoming World Cup, it is expected that Qatar will ha
ve sufficient infrastructure by 2024 as the World Cup is prior
to this date.
Baku, Azerbaijan
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Baku has submitted bids for both the 2016 and 2020 Olympic
Games, but failed to become a Candidate City both times.
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Infrastructure and transit links in Baku do not compare favourably with those offered by the City.
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Bake has hosted the FIFA Under 17 Women`s World Cup and is
due to host the 2015 European Games. Such experiences
could be leveraged in an Olympic bid.
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Most venues would need to be constructed, and the city`s previous bids have contemplated a very compact Games,
something the IOC favours.
Casablanca, Morocco
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A large 80,000 seat stadium is currently under construction in Casablanca. It has been suggested by officials in the city
that it could be used for either the 2024 or 2028 Olympic Games.
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However, despite prior announcements, there has been very little additional information made available.
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Casablanca’s close proximity to Europe could make it an attractive option.
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If Casablanca were to host the Games, it would be the first African city to do so, which may be attractive to the IOC.
Taipei, Taiwan
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The President of Taipei has indicated, as recently as 2011 that Taipei would be bidding for the Games.
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The political situation between Taiwan and China could be a major issue for the IOC to deal with.
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The IOC may also want to avoid an Olympic Games so close to China, who hosed the Olympic Games in 2008.
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Television revenue would be impacted for a Taiwanese bid, as the country is not close to either North America or Europe,
the two largest television markets in the world.
City of Toronto
Feasibility Study in Respect of Hosting the 2024 Olympic Games
111 | Subject to the terms of reference on pages 2, 3 and 4.
Busan, South Korea
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Busan’s chances for the Games will likely be negatively impacted by the fact that South Korea is already hosting the 2018
Winter Olympic Games as the IOC may not want 2 Olympi
c Games within the same country only 6 years apart.
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Busan has previously hosted several large events, including
World Cup matches, the 2002 Asian Games and the 2005 Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation (“
APEC
”) meeting.
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Similar to Taiwan, television revenues may be negatively impacted by an Asian time zone.
Paris, France
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Paris has bid for a number of Olympic Games including 1992, 2008 and 2012.
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Paris, as a leading world capital, offers many features that would be attractive to the IOC. These include infrastructure,
hotels and transit links in addition to a high number of cultural attractions.
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Paris previously held the Olympic Games in 1904 so the IOC ma
y wish to honour prior competitions by awarding future
Olympic Games to Paris.
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Paris, at the heart of Europe, is easy to reach and is central to a high number of people.
Berlin, Germany
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Berlin previously held the Olympics in 1936 while Germany was under Nazi control. The IOC may wish to allow Germany
another opportunity to host the Games given the circumstances in 1936.
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Germany, as Europe’s most populous country (excluding Russia
which is largely in Asia), is central to the continent and
offers many of the same benefits as Paris.
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Germany held the World Cup in 2006 and that tournament was a resounding success so it speaks to Germany’s ability to
host large scale sporting events.
Rome, Italy
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Rome previously held the Olympic Games in 1960.
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Italy is a popular tourist destination and would be very attractive to the IOC.
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Italy is well-connected to the rest of Europe via air and rail links.
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Two European cities are currently Candidate Cities for the 2020 Olympic Games and the outcome of this selection could
have a strong bearing on Kiev’s candidacy.
St. Petersburg, Russia
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Sochi, Russia will be hosting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games so there may be a negative impact on a St. Petersburg bid
given another recent Russian city hosting the Olympic Games.
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Russia has also been awarded the 2018 FIFA World Cup, so it will have an opportunity to host large scale events prior to the
Games being held.
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The current political climate in Russia is not particularly
welcoming to certain segments of the world population while
Toronto is currently one of the most multicultural cities in the world.
Kiev, Ukraine
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Kiev has experience in hosting large events, as it was host to several matches during EURO 2012.
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The infrastructure for the EURO 2012 tournament will assist Kiev if it decides to bid for the Games.
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Kiev is not as connected to the rest of Europe as many of the other potential hosts, so it may be less attractive to the IOC in
that regard.
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Two European cities are currently Candidate Cities for the 2020 Olympic Games and the outcome of this selection could
have a strong bearing on Kiev’s candidacy.