Los Angeles’ bid to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games Wednesday marked the United Nations International Women’s Day by releasing “Equality, Excellence and Opportunity” – LA 2024’s Women in Sport commitment, by enshrining the bid’s mission to enable women throughout the Olympic Movement to achieve their goals in sport and in life.
LA 2024’s philosophy of women’s equality was inspired by a senior Candidature Committee team comprising prominent, active and accomplished leaders in the international Women in Sport movement. These policies have been set out in Part 3 of the LA 2024 Candidature File.
LA 2024’s athlete-centered Games Plan was informed by nation-wide consultation meetings with hundreds of female Olympians and Paralympians from different nations, sports and age groups.
Anita DeFrantz. LA 2024’s Senior Adviser for Legacy and an IOC Executive Board member as well an Honorary Member of the IOC Women in Sport Commission and President Emeritus of the LA 84 Foundation said “the Olympic movement has made tremendous progress in recent years, driven forward by the IOC’s Women in Sport initiative.”
“Now we believe that LA 2024 – the United States’ first Games in a generation – can be the Olympic Movement’s best partners for continuing this vital process of transformation. That is why LA 2024 took the unprecedented step of enshrining our Women in Sport policy in our official bid documentation and in our “Equality, Excellence, Opportunity” commitment.
“For LA 2024, equality for female participants is not just a case of evening up the numbers; it is about respect, opportunity and aspiration. The United States has had and will continue to have a big role to play worldwide in supporting the rights of women in sport and in society.”
Angela Ruggiero, LA 2024 Chief Strategy Office and IOC Athletes’ Commission Chair and Board Member as well as former President of the Women’s Sports Foundation added “LA 2024 regards the promotion of women’s equality in and through sport as a strategic priority – not just because we want a better Games and a strong Olympic Movement for women, but because we want a better Games and a strong Olympic Movement, full-stop.
“LA 20224 is committed to getting America’s 50 million girls and young women enthusiastic about and participating in sport and the Olympic Movement. The majority of the US audience for the Olympic Games is female, so LA 2024 has the opportunity to give a game-changing boost to engagement and participation in women’s sport at all levels.”
“And we can help the Olympic Movement replicate that impact worldwide, because LA is a city that speaks to the world’s youth every day. Female athletes at LA 2024 will be inspirational, international role models for the world showing a world of new possibilities.”
LA 2024’s Women in Sport Commitment includes a philosophy of women’s equality defined by global Women in Sport leaders, an OCOG committed to women’s equality and inclusion in Games management, equal conditions for female athletes and women’s teams, captivating, inspirational stories of female accomplishment, and more visibility, sponsorship dollars for women’s sport.
LA is competing with Paris to host the 2024 Olympics Games. The host city will be selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) September 13 in Lima, Peru.
