"The fascinating new events that we approved today, together with the five new sports that were added to the Tokyo 2020 program previous year, represent a step-change in the Olympic program", IOC president Thomas Bach said.
The recommendation of the IOC Executive Board is set to be ratified by all IOC members at the 130th IOC Session scheduled for September 13 in Lima, Peru. MORE: LA lights up to help lure 2024 Olympics Bach said there had been talks but not negotiations with officials from Los Angeles and Paris, which he described as "two such great cities, two such great countries, having two candidatures who are really enthusiastic".
Now, the executive board has made it be.
"We are proud to represent the City of Light and to promote a plan, in partnership with the International Olympic Committee, all the key stakeholders and the people of Paris and France, that would deliver Games of wonderful celebration and genuine legacy".
LA, meanwhile, is seen as more open to a deal, especially after its bid chairman Casey Wasserman said this week that "LA 2024 has never been only about LA or 2024".
Wasserman, an agent and sports entrepreneur, gave the strongest indication yet earlier this week that the city could adapt to a 2028 event.
The IOC would prefer a consensus to emerge rather than impose a deal on the cities, and LA could be rewarded for being the most flexible.
Messi's Argentina down Brazil in Australian 'Superclasico'
The Argentina's football team landed at Singapore's Changi Airport on Saturday evening along with start player Lionel Messi . Lionel Messi has invited all 21 of his club teammates to his wedding on June 30 but not former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique.
Adding a new urban basketball discipline to the Olympic program marks a quantum leap for the development of the game and presents an array of opportunities for new countries and players alike.
The IOC president "has done an excellent job of managing the process so far", Michael Payne, the Olympic body's former marketing director and a consultant to LA, told The Associated Press in Lausanne this week. Less publicized but no less important to golf fans, however, was the IOC's announcement that all 28 sports from the 2016 Rio program will remain on in 2024, meaning golf will return beyond its initial two Games guarantee.
The 13-member board chaired by Bach has two American members - Anita DeFrantz and Angela Ruggiero.
Tokyo is to include a 4x400m mixed relay in athletics and a 4x100m medley mixed relay in swimming, the committee said in a statement, adding that swimming would also include a men's 800m and women's 1,500m freestyle race.
International Olympic Committee chief Bach also announced that the International Olympic Committee will consider streamlining the bid procedure in the future - reducing the review period from two years to one year and offering substantially more help to bid cities early in the selection process.
Bach praised both cities for including a high number of existing venues in their plans, saying this would "lead to significant cost reductions in the organization of the Games and make them more sustainable and more feasible".
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