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CHOICE OF THE HOST CITY
ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
The IOC’s role is to elect the Host City and establish the candidature and election process. The choice of the Host City is the prerogative of the IOC Session (the general assembly of the IOC members) and it is the IOC Executive Board which determines the procedure to be followed until the election by the Session. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, this election is held seven years before the Olympic Games.
The Host City election takes place in a country which does not have a Candidate City for the Games in question.
HOST CITY ELECTION PROCEDURE
The procedure leading to the election of a Host City for the Olympic Games is governed by the Olympic Charter (Chapter 5, Rule 34 and its bye-law - page 72).
Since December 1999, this procedure has consisted of a two-phase process spanning approximately two years:
Phase 1: Application
In accordance with Rule 34 of the Olympic Charter, any city wishing to stage the Games of the Olympiad or the Olympic Winter Games must be proposed to the IOC by its National Olympic Committee (NOC), with a letter from the city concerned.
During this first phase, which lasts around 10 months, all cities are considered as "Applicant Cities".
Applicant Cities are required to answer a questionnaire contained in the IOC’s "Candidature Acceptance Procedure" which provides the IOC with an overview of each city's project to host the Olympic Games. Applications are then assessed by a Working Group which determines the cities' potential to organise successful Olympic Games in the year in question. This technical assessment includes a number of criteria such as government support, public opinion, general infrastructure, security, venues, accommodation and transport.
In concluding this first phase, the IOC Executive Board determines which cities are to be accepted as "Candidate Cities" based on the findings of the Working Group’s report.
Phase 2: Candidature
Those cities accepted as "Candidate Cities" by the IOC Executive Board go through to a second phase, in which they are required to submit a candidature file to the IOC by answering the questions contained in the IOC’s Candidature Procedure and Questionnaire.
The candidature files are analysed by an Evaluation Commission. The Commission carries out a site inspection of each Candidate City and issues a report of its findings which is sent to all IOC Members and made available on the IOC website. The IOC Executive Board then draws up the final list of Candidate Cities to be submitted for a vote by the IOC Session to elect the Host City.
The Evaluation Commission members include IOC members, representatives of the International Federations (IFs), the NOCs, the IOC Athletes' Commission and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), as well as other experts.
All IOC bid documents, including the documents mentioned above, are made public and can be found on the IOC’s website.
MISSIONS
- The Olympic Charter
- Choice of the host city
- Organisation of the Olympic Games
- Promotion of women in sport
- Protection of athletes
- Human development assistance
- Promotion of sustainable development
- The Olympic Truce
- Promotion of Culture and Olympic Education
OLYMPIC CHARTER
Discover the founding text of the Olympic Movement.
DOCUMENTS
All IOC bid documents and reports can be found here ("Choice of the Host City" section) :
FAQS
The key information about the election of an Olympic Games host city: