Host city selection

Athina was selected as the host city for the Games of the Ist Olympiad of the Modern Era at the Sorbonne Congress in Paris on 24 June 1894. London (Great Britain) and Paris (France) were also given consideration as hosts, but Athina was elected by acclamation.

Paris was selected to host the 1900 Olympic Games at the Sorbonne Congress in Paris on 24 June 1894, after Athina had been selected to host the 1896 Olympic Games.

The host city for the 1904 Olympic Games was selected at the IOC Session in Paris on 22 May 1901. The original selection was Chicago, Illinois, the only serious bid. Three other American cities, Buffalo, New York, New York City and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania had also been considered.

But, eventually, Chicago stepped aside to allow St. Louis, Missouri to host the 1904 Olympic Games. This was confirmed by a postal vote of the IOC who responded in December 1902. The vote was 14 – 2 in favor of St. Louis.

The 1908 Olympic Games were awarded to Roma (Italy) at the 6th IOC Session in London on 22 June 1904. The other candidates had been Berlin (Germany) and Torino (Italy).

At the 8th IOC Session during the 1906 Intercalated Olympic Games in Athina, Count Eugenio Brunetta d’Usseaux, advised the IOC members that because of the erruption of Mount Vesuvius, Roma no longer had the financial resources to host the 1908 Olympics. But in reality, the decision had been taken sometime before the volcanic eruption. Baron de Coubertin then turned to London (Great Britain). On 19 November 1906, the British Olympic Council sent a letter agreeing to host the 1908 Olympic Games.

Stockholm was selected by acclamation at the 11th IOC Session in Berlin on 28 May 1909. Berlin (Germany) was quite interested in hosting the 1912 Olympic Games but withdrew its bid shortly before the session.

Berlin (Germany) was selected by acclamation at the 15th IOC Session in Stockholm on 4 July 1912. After withdrawing its bid for the 1912 Olympic Games, in favor of Stockholm, a gentlemen’s agreement had been in place which virtually promised the 1916 Olympic Games to Berlin. Al-Iskanderiya (Alexandria) (Egypt) and Budapest (Hungary) made the only serious competing bids, but both withdrew prior to the IOC Session. Amsterdam (Netherlands), Bruxelles (Belgium) and Cleveland, Ohio (United States) withdrew their bids earlier on.

Antwerpen (Belgium) had been promised the 1920 Olympic Games at the 17th IOC Session in Paris in 1914. But because of the ravages of World War I, which devastated Belgium, Lyon (France) made the most serious offer to step in as hosts for the Games of the VIIth Olympiad. Lyon and Amsterdam (Netherlands) formally bid for the 1920 Olympics but withdrew prior to the 18th IOC Session in Lausanne at which Antwerpen was confirmed as the host city on 5 April 1919. Other cities made overtures but never made an official bid: Atlanta, Georgia (United States), Budapest, (Hungary), Cleveland, Ohio (United States), La Habana (Havana) (Cuba) and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States).

At the 20th IOC Session in Lausanne on 2 June 1921, Baron Pierre de Coubertin requested that the IOC formally vote for Paris (France), to host the 1924 Olympic Games and Amsterdam (Netherlands), to host the 1928 Olympic Games. This request was based on his intended retirement as IOC President shortly after the 1924 Olympic Games. The IOC voted on this matter with 14 votes for the proposal, 4 against the proposal, and 4 abstentions. Four other cities had been bidding for the 1924 Games: Barcelona (Spain), Los Angeles, California (United States), Praha (Czechoslovakia) and Roma (Italy).

Amsterdam (Netherlands) was chosen as the host city at the 20th IOC Session in Lausanne on 2 June 1921, in the dual vote with Paris for 1924 (see The Games of the VIIIth Olympiad). The only other city considered was Los Angeles, California (United States). Amsterdam had been virtually promised the 1928 Olympics when it stepped aside in favor of Paris for the 1924 Olympic Games as a favor to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the IOC, who was retiring as IOC President after the 1924 Olympics and wished to have them held in his native France.

Los Angeles, California (United States) was awarded the Games of the Xth Olympiad by acclamation at the 22nd IOC Session in Roma on 8 April 1923. There were no other serious candidate cities.

By 1930, no less than 14 cities had shown interest in hosting the 1936 Summer Olympics: Berlin (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Alexandria (Egypt), Budapest (Hungary), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Dublin (Ireland), Köln (Cologne) (Germany), Dublin (Ireland), Frankfurt am Main (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Lausanne (Switzerland), Nürnberg (Germany), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Roma (Italy). By the time the 30th IOC Session in Barcelona was scheduled, all but two bids were withdrawn: Barcelona itself and Berlin. Because only 19 voting members were present at the IOC Session, a postal vote was held, which Berlin won 43 - 16.

Various cities were interested Al-Iskanderiya (Alexandria) (Egypt), Athina (Greece), Barcelona (Spain), Budapest (Hungary), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Dublin (Ireland), Helsinki (Finland), Lausanne (Switzerland), London (England), Montréal (Canada), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Roma (Italy), Tokyo (Japan) and Toronto (Canada), but only two bids remained at the bid voting at the 35th IOC Session in Berlin on 31 July 1936.

Tokyo withdrew as hosts of the Games of the XIIth Olympiad on 16 July 1938. The 1940 Olympic Games were awarded to Helsinki on 3 September 1938 at a meeting of the IOC Executive Board in Bruxelles, Belgium. After the outbreak of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Finland, Helsinki eventually also withdrew, on 23 April 1940.

Bid voting at the 39th IOC Session in London on 9 June 1939. No exact date has ever been published for London relinquishing the 1944 Olympic Games but the war in Europe obviously made it impossible to hold such an event, especially in London.

At an earlier stage, Budapest (Hungary), Helsinki (Finland) and Montréal (Canada) had also shown interest.

Because of time constraints, and the difficulty getting IOC members to travel to a central location for voting on the 1948 Olympic Games, London (Great Britain) was confirmed as the host city by a postal vote. The vote was confirmed at the 40th IOC Session in Lausanne on 4 September 1946. The other candidates were: Baltimore, Maryland, Los Angeles, California, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (all United States) and Lausanne (Switzerland).

Bid voting at the 41st IOC Session in Stockholm on 21 June 1947:

Athina (Greece), Lausanne (Switzerland) and Stockholm (Sweden) had entered preliminary bids.

Bid voting at the 44th IOC Session in Roma on 28 April 1949.

Montréal, Québec (Canada) and San Francisco, California (United States) had entered preliminary bids.

Bid voting at the 51st IOC Session in Paris on 16 June 1955.

Bid voting at the 56th IOC Session in München, Germany on 26 May 1959.

Bid voting at the 61st IOC Session in Baden-Baden, West Germany on 18 October 1963.

Bid voting at the 65th IOC Session in Roma on 26 April 1966.

Bid voting at the 70th IOC Session in Amsterdam on 13 May 1970.

Bid voting at the 75th IOC Session in Vienna on 23 October 1974.

There was no vote. Los Angeles, California (United States) was tentatively awarded the 1984 Olympic Games at the 80th IOC Session in Athens on 18 May 1978. Los Angeles was required to meet certain conditions of the Olympic Charter. On 31 August 1978, the IOC Executive Board announced a postal vote that lasted until 7 October 1978, with a ⅔ majority required to confirm Los Angeles as the host city. The vote was as follows: 75 for Los Angeles, 3 against, with 6 abstentions. Tehran (Iran) also made a preliminary bid but withdrew before the final bidding.

Bid voting at the 84th IOC Session in Baden-Baden, West Germany on 30 September 1981.

Bid voting at the 91st IOC Session in Lausanne on 17 October 1986.

Bid voting at the 96th IOC Session in Tokyo on 18 September 1990.

Bid voting at the 101st IOC Session in Monte Carlo in 23 September 1993.

Bid voting at the 106th IOC Session in Lausanne on 5 September 1997. Because of the number of candidate cities, an Evaluation Commission of the IOC was nominated whose task was to pare the number of candidates down to a more workable four or five prior to the final vote. There were six eliminated cities: İstanbul (Turkey), Lille (France), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), San Juan (Puerto Rico), Sevilla (Spain) and St. Petersburg (Russia).

Bid voting at the 112th IOC Session in Moscow on 13 July 2001. Because of the number of candidate cities, an Evaluation Commission of the IOC was nominated whose task was to pare the number of candidates down to a more workable four or five prior to the final vote. There were five eliminated cities: Krung Thep (Bangkok) (Thailand), Al-Qahira (Cairo) (Egypt), La Habana (Havana) (Cuba), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Seville (Spain).

The host city for the Games of the XXXth Olympiad was chosen at the 117th IOC Session on 6 July 2005. The original nine candidate cities were La Habana (Havana), Cuba; İstanbul, Turkey; Leipzig, Germany; London; Great Britain; Madrid, Spain; Moskva, Russia; New York, New York, USA; Paris, France; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Four cities were eliminated and the five remaining cities advancing to the final vote were London, Madrid, Moskva, New York, and Paris. London was selected as the host city on the 4th round of voting over Paris, 54-50.

Bid voting at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore on 6 July 2005. Because of the number of candidate cities, an Evaluation Commission of the IOC was nominated whose task was to pare the number of candidates down to a more workable five prior to the final vote. There were four eliminated cities: La Habana (Havana) (Cuba), İstanbul (Turkey), Leipzig (Germany) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).

Bid voting at the 13th IOC Congress in København on 2 October 2009. Because of the number of candidate cities, an Evaluation Commission of the IOC was nominated whose task was to pare the number of candidates down to a more workable four prior to the final vote.

There were three eliminated cities: Doha (Qatar), Praha (Czech Republic) and Bakı (Azerbaijan).

Bid voting at the 123rd IOC Congress in Buenos Aires on 7 September 2013. Because of the number of candidate cities, an Evaluation Commission of the IOC was nominated whose task was to pare the number of candidates down to a more workable three prior to the final vote.

There were three eliminated cities: Ad-Dawhah (Doha) (Qatar), Roma (Italy) and Bakı (Azerbaijan).

Host city announcement at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru on 13 September 2017. Paris, France was chosen to host the Games of the XXXIIIrd Olympiad (2024), along with Los Angeles, California, United States being chosen to host the Games of the XXXIVth Olympiad (2028) in a joint selection. Several other cities had bid for 2024, including Los Angeles, which was chosen as the USA bid city after Boston, Massachusetts withdrew. Budapest, Hungary; Hamburg, Germany; and Roma, Italy had also bid for the 2024 Olympic Games but they had all withdrawn before the IOC Session.

Host city announcement at the 131st IOC Session in Lima, Peru on 13 September 2017. Los Angeles, California, United States was chosen to host the Games of the XXXIVth Olympiad (2028) at the same time as Paris, France was chosen to host the Games of the XXXIIIrd Olympiad (2024). Los Angeles, California was chosen as the USA bid city for 2024 after Boston, Massachusetts withdrew. In a joint announcement, Los Angeles agreed to defer to host until 2028 with Paris being chosen for 2024.

Host city announcement at the 138th IOC Session in Tokyo, Japan on 21 July 2021. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia was announced as the host city of the Games of the XXXVth Olympiad in 2032. In a new method of selection there was no formal bidding, with rounds of votes and one winner chosen, and several losers. Brisbane had been proposed months before by the IOC Executive Committee as the best candidate for 2032 and the IOC Session approved this by a vote of 72 yes, 5 no, with 3 abstentions.

No host city election took place. The Games were not declared the 1st Olympic Winter Games until after the fact.

Out of three Swiss cities St. Moritz was selected at the 25th IOC Session in Lisboa on 6 May 1926 by a vote of 22 in favor with one abstention. The other bidding cities were Davos and Engelberg.

As organizer of the 1932 Summer Olympics, the United States were allowed to host the Winter Olympics as well. Six US cities, and one Canadian city made an application: Bear Mountain, New York, Denver, Colorado, Duluth, Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Yosemite Valley, California (two separate applications) and Montréal, Québec (Canada). Lake Placid was selected by acclamation at the 28th IOC Session in Lausanne on 10 April 1929.

After Berlin was selected as the host city for the 1936 Olympic Games, Germany exercised its option to also host the 1936 Olympic Winter Games. On 13 May 1933, Germany informed the 32nd IOC Session that their choice for the winter site was Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Montréal, Québec (Canada) and St. Moritz (Switzerland) had applied in case Germany would be unable to host the Winter Games.

The IOC unanimously voted for Sapporo (Japan) as host city at the 37th IOC Session in Warszawa on 9 June 1937. It was accepted by acclamation after Tokyo had been chosen as host of the 1940 Olympic Games, although Oslo (Norway) and St. Moritz (Switzerland) had also made bids.

Sapporo withdrew as hosts of the 1940 Olympic Winter Games on 16 July 1938. They were then awarded to St. Moritz on 3 September 1938 at a meeting of the IOC Executive Board in Bruxelles, Belgium. St. Moritz was removed by the IOC on 9 June 1939 at the 39th IOC Session in London and the 1940 Olympic Winter Games were then awarded to Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany), which eventually also withdrew in November 1939, following the outbreak of World War II.

Bid voting at the 39th IOC Session in London on 9 June 1939. The Games were never celebrated because of World War II.

St. Moritz (Switzerland) was proposed as the host for the 1948 Olympic Winter Games in the postal vote which was mailed for selection of the 1948 Olympic Games host city. St. Moritz was confirmed by acclamation at the 40th IOC Session in Lausanne on 6 September 1946. Lake Placid, New York (United States) had also shown interest in hosting these Games.

Bid voting at the 41st IOC Session in Stockholm on 21 June 1947.

Bid voting at the 44th IOC Session in Rome on 28 April 1949.

Bid voting at the 51st IOC Session in Paris on 14 June 1955.

Bid voting at the 56th IOC Session in Munich on 25 May 1959.

Bid voting at the 62nd IOC Session in Innsbruck on 28 January 1964.

Bid voting at the 65th IOC Session in Roma on 26 April 1966.

Bid voting at the 70th IOC Session in Amsterdam on 13 May 1970.

In November 1972, the citizens of Denver voted in a referendum to not host the Olympic Winter Games, fearing the negative environmental impact the Games could have. On 12 November 1972, Denver officially withdrew as host city. Bids were quickly solicited from Innsbruck (Austria), Lake Placid, New York (United States), Mont Blanc (France) and Tampere (Finland). Innsbruck was selected as the host at a meeting of the IOC Executive Board in Lausanne on 4 February 1973.

The city of Lake Placid, New York (United States) was selected by acclamation at the 75th IOC Session in Vienna on 23 October 1974. The only other serious candidate had been Vancouver-Garibaldi, Canada, but they withdrew their bid on 4 October 1974 prior to the final vote.

Bid voting at the 80th IOC Session in Athens on 18 May 1978.

Bid voting at the 84th IOC Session in Baden-Baden (West Germany) on 30 September 1981.

Bid voting at the 91st IOC Session in Lausanne on 17 October 1986.

Bid voting at the 94th IOC Session in Seoul on 15 September 1988.

Bid voting at the 97th IOC Session in Birmingham, England on 15 June 1991.

Bid voting at the 104th IOC Session in Budapest on 16 June 1995. Because of the proliferation of cities bidding to host the Olympic Winter Games, an Evaluation Commission of the IOC was formed which pared the 10 candidate cities to a final four, which were voted upon by the full IOC Session. The eliminated cities were: Almaty (Kazakhstan), Poprad-Tatry (Slovakia), Jaca (Spain), Sochi (Russia), Graz (Austria) and Tarvisio (Italy).

Bid voting at the 109th IOC Session in Seoul on 19 June 1999. After the Olympic Scandal of early 1999, the Evaluation Commission of the IOC pared the candidates to only two that were voted upon by the full IOC Session. Eliminated cities were Helsinki (Finland) (with Lillehammer (Norway)), Klagenfurt (Austria) (with Cortina d’Ampezzo (Italy) and Jesnice (Slovenia)), Poprad-Tatry (Slovakia) and Zakopane (Poland).

Bid voting at the 115th IOC Session in Praha, Czech Republic on 2 July 2003. The IOC Executive Committee, at its meeting of 28 August 2002, narrowed the field to the final four candidate cities. Eliminated were: Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Jaca (Spain), Andorra la Vella (Andorra) and Harbin (China).

Bern (Switzerland) was selected as a final candidate city, but a few weeks after that selection, the citizens of its canton in Switzerland voted in a referendum and chose not to support the bid. The Bern bid committee then withdrew on 27 September 2002.

The 22nd Olympic Winter Games host city were awarded to Sochi, Russia, which was selected at the 119th IOC Session in Guatemala City on 4 July 2007. Sochi won the bid over PyeongChang, Korea, and Salzburg, Austria. There were four other candidate cities – Almaty, Kazakhstan; Borjomi, Georgia; Jaca, Spain; and Sofia, Bulgaria – but the IOC narrowed the field to the final three candidates in June 2006.

The IOC Executive Committee, at its meeting of 22 June 2006, narrowed the field to the final three candidate cities. Eliminated were: Almaty (Kazakhstan), Borjomi (Georgia), Jaca (Spain) and Sofia (Bulgaria).

Bid voting at the 123rd IOC Session in Durban on 6 July 2011.

Bid voting at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 31 July 2015. Krakow, Poland & Jasna, Slovakia; Lviv, Ukraine; and Oslo, Norway had originally bid but withdrew before the final vote.

Bid voting at the 134rd IOC Session in Lausanne on 24 June 2019.

Four more cities withdrew in a earlier stage of the bid:

• Calgary, Canada
• Graz, Austria
• Sapporo, Japan
• Sion, Switzerland

Erzurum, Turkey, was not invited to the candidature stage.

Bid voting at the 50th IOC Session in Athens on 13 May 1954.

No host city election took place. These Olympics were organized by the Greeks outside of the usual quadrennial cycle of Olympic Games.

Bid voting at the 119th IOC Session in Guatemala City on 6 July 2007.

Bid voting at the 122nd IOC Session in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on 10 February 2010.

Bid voting at an Extraordinary IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland on 4 July 2013.

Bid voting at the 133th IOC Session in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 8 October 2018. Dakar, Senegal was selected as the host city by acclamation. No other cities made formal bids, nor made it to the voting session, although several other cities had expressed an interest in hosting.

Innsbruck, Austria was selected as host of the Ist Youth Olympic Winter Games after a postal vote that was announced by IOC president Jacques Rogge on 12 December 2008. The only other city that made a formal bid was Kuopio, Finland.

Lillehammer, Norway was selected as host of the IInd Youth Olympic Winter Games, with the announcement made by the International Olympic Committee at an Executive Board Meeting on 7 December 2011. There were no other final bid cities, although Lake Placid, New York, USA; Lucerne Switzerland; Zaragoza, Spain; and Sofia, Bulgaria all expressed an interest in bidding but did not submit formal bids.

Bid voting at the 128th IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 31 July 2015.

Gangwon, Republic of Korea was selected as host of the IVth Youth Olympic Winter Games at the 135th IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland on 10 January 2020. No other cities made formal bids.