LA 2024 Committee Readies Olympic Bid, Unveils Logo
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The committee leading Los Angeles' bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games unveiled its official logo on Tuesday -- a silhouette of a winged athlete -- and a slogan, "Follow the Sun."
"Everyday people follow the sun to our city in pursuit of their dreams, spurring unprecedented creativity, innovation and progress," said Casey Wasserman, chairman of Los Angeles 2024. "We're inviting the world to `Follow the Sun' to California in 2024, to join us in L.A. for an Olympic and Paralympic Games that signal the dawn of a new era for the Olympic Movement."
According to the committee, the logo's soaring figure symbolizes athletes reaching for their dreams, while the wings reference "the city of Angels."
Garcetti told the crowd assembled for Tuesday's presentation that the logo "captures the essence of L.A. -- a soaring belief that through hard work, creativity and ingenuity, we can follow the sun and reach the highest levels of success. It is with that commitment that we are excited to continue following our dream of bringing the Games back to a city that loves them."
Los Angeles is bidding against Paris, Rome and Hungary for the chance to host the games. The International Olympic Committee is scheduled to select the host city in 2017. Already, Boston ditched its bid for the 2024 Olympics because of high costs.
The city will formally submit its bid on Wednesday. The bid will provide details on the proposed games' budget, marketing plans and venues.
Garcetti said L.A.'s bid will be especially competitive given the region's vast network of athletic venues.
"Ninety-seven percent of our venues already exist, are already planned or will be temporary," Garcetti said. "We only have to build one venue to host the games."
Still, many residents are concerned that the Olympics would defer resources from more urgent matters, such as dealing with rampant homelessness.
Garcetti said that won't be the case.
"Two things," he said. "No city money is in this bid. Every ounce, every dollar that we put in is going to things like solving homelessness and paving our streets. And secondly, we'll have more money in our coffers when the Olympics come here."
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