D.C. One of Four Contenders for 2024 Olympics

The U.S. Olympic Committee has narrowed the list of cities vying to represent the country’s bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics and Washington, D.C., is in the Final Four.

The #DC2024 organization is competing against Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco to host the summer games.

“We’re extremely pleased with the level of interest U.S. cities have shown in hosting the Games,” said U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun in a statement. “Boston, L.A., San Francisco, and Washington have each given us reason to believe they can deliver a compelling and successful bid, and we look forward to continue to explore the possibilities as we consider 2024.”

San Diego and Dallas have been dropped from the running for the U.S. bid.

Patch previously reported that D.C. business leader Russ Ramsey is the chairman of the Washington Olympics committee. Ramsey is the chairman and CEO of Ramsey Asset Management, an investment group, and a trustee for George Washington University.

“We want to thank the U.S. Olympic Committee for their decision to include Washington in the final round of U.S. cities under consideration for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Ramsey in a statement. “We fully support USOC’s effort to build a truly national bid that will garner global support, and we have no doubt that we can stand shoulder to shoulder with other world-class cities in the U.S. and around the globe to build the best Games in history.”

The Olympics have not been on U.S. soil since the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, NBC reports, and the last Summer Olympic Games were Atlanta in 1996. Los Angeles is the only city still in the running that has hosted the Olympics (1932 and 1984). San Francisco lost the U.S. bid to New York for the 2012 bid; New York lost to ultimate host London. Rio de Janeiro defeated Chicago in the 2016 bid. Tokyo will host the Olympics in 2020.

“This is the beginning of our community’s effort to bring the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games to the Capital Region,” said Ramsey. “The area is one of the most diverse, fastest-growing and dynamic regions in the world. Washington, Maryland and Virginia combined represent three of the most dynamic economies in the U.S. We look forward to bringing together community, business and government leaders from across the region to build the best Olympic Games in history -- that will leave the most positive, lasting legacy since London 2012. An Olympic Games hosted in our nation’s capital would inspire American youth for generations to become active and get engaged in sport.”

The U.S. Olympic Committee will select the city to run for the 2024 Olympics in 2015, according to Patch.

The International Olympic Committee will accept bids for the games the same year, The Washington Business Journal reports. A decision for the 2024 Olympics host city will be reached in 2017.