IOC changes Olympic bid process

LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to change the bid process for future Olympic Games to avoid "damages" caused by withdrawals of bidders.

The changes have been included in the Olympic Charter and given unaimous approval of the IOC Session.

The first change is that the rule of picking host cities seven years before the year of the Games was abandoned, which means further double awards, like Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028, is possible.

John Coates, who led a five-member working group to make recommendations about the changes, confirmed to the session, "There is the flexibility for that."

Secondly, future Olympic host will not be necessarily a city. "Host can also refer to multiple cities, regions and/or countries," it was revealed at the IOC Session. That leaves the door open for different countries to make a joint bid.

Thirdly, the IOC encourages potential bidders to use existing or temporary venues and infrastructures. "The construction of new permanent venues shall only be considered on the basis of sustainable legacy plans."

Finally, the evaluation commission for candidate cities will be replaced by two "Future Host Commissions" to explore, create and oversee interest in future Olympic Games.

IOC President Thomas Bach said: "This is the evolution of the Olympic Agenda 2020 revolution, as we must continue to keep up with the fast pace of change in our current world. Flexibility is a necessity to ensure good governance and to have sustainable Olympic Games in the future.

"We will do that while maintaining the magic of the Games, the fundamental principle of universality and our commitment to having athletes at the centre of everything we do."

All these changes are based on the recommendations made by the Coats-led working group, which also includes Slovakia's IOC Athletes' Commission vice-chair Danka Bartekova, Argentina's Gerardo Werthein, Lydia Nsekera of Burundi and Li Lingwei of China.

The IOC Members will continue to be "at the center" of the decision-making process, with the session's prerogative to elect Games hosts preserved, the IOC said in a statement.

"The members will be consulted on numerous occasions, and prospective hosts will still be required to make presentations to the session, which will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide comments," the statement said.