Toronto to join race for 2024 Olympic Games, says COC

Toronto will bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics, according to the head of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC).

Canada’s largest city joins Boston, Budapest, Hamburg, Paris and Rome in an already crowded race to land the Games. 

Toronto is currently hosting the Pan American Games, and Marcel Aubut, president of the COC, believes this will act as a springboard for the city. 

"I think there's only one spot that (the Pan Am Games) could lead us (to), and to me that's the Olympic Games," Aubut told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 

Toronto has never hosted the Olympics, losing recent bids to Atlanta for the 1996 edition and to Beijing for 2008.  

But the city has invested heavily in the Pan Am Games, which conclude on Sunday, spending 2.5 billion Canadian dollars (three times more than Guadalajara, Mexico spent on the 2011 event). 

I think there's only one spot that (the Pan Am Games) could lead us (to), and to me that's the Olympic Games.

Cities hoping to host the 2024 Olympics have until September 15 to confirm their interest to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and Aubut admits there is still work to be done for him to get the required backing in time to meet the deadline. 

"I will have to work very closely with City Hall (and) the mayor of Toronto (John Tory), who expressed a keen interest during the week, and also wait for every stakeholder, including all the politicians," he said.  

“I have to convince them and work with them to make this happen."