But not everyone:
“The way IOC does it, the games go to Europe, the Americas and then somewhere else,” Paul Henderson, former International Olympic Committee member and the Toronto 1996 bid chief, told the Toronto Sun. “And what most people don’t realize is that the IOC considers North and South America the same continent. Now there are always funny things once in a while that change that, but normally that’s the thought process.”So Mr Henderson believes that the pattern is a) Europe, b) Americas and c) somewhere else. Does that hold up? Here are the Olympic sites from 1980 - 2020 (A = Europe, B = Americas, C = somewhere else).
B
A
A
B
B
C
A
A
A
B
C
C
B
A
A
C
B
A
A
B
C
C
That doesn't line up as nicely as Mr Henderson suggests but there are some patterns there. Europe usually gets two or three hosting duties in a row and then other regions get a few. After the European cycle, the Americas have often hosted next but Beijing broke that cycle in 2008. If these patterns are correct, then 2022 or 2024 will feature a European host city and so will 2024 or 2026.
One big caveat here is that this isn't a natural pattern but one generated by a committee that hears bids. They won't be held by a tradition that Europe hosts multiple times in a row. My guess is that the U.S. should still be considered the front runner for 2024 but now I'm less certain.
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