August 22 - There will be no bid from the United States for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics it has been officially confirmed after the seven cities which had expressed an interest in putting themselves forward were told over the weekend to forget it.

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) contacted Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York City and Tulsa to tell them that they had decided if they would miss this campaign following unsuccessful bids for the 2012 and 2016 Games.

Ever since Chicago were humiliatingly eliminated in 2009 in the first round of voting for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics, which were awarded to Rio de Janeiro, the USOC have made it clear that they will only bid when they have repaired its international relations which have been damaged by a revenue-sharing row with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

With an agreement with the IOC reportedly close, there had been feverish speculation earlier this month that New York City would be put forward before the deadline for 2020 closes on September 1.

Those hopes have now been dashed.

"With such little time left, we don't believe we could pull together a winning bid that could serve the Olympic and Paralympic Movement," said Patrick Sandusky, the spokesman for the USOC.

With the closing deadline fast approaching, so far the only declared bidders are Istanbul, Madrid, Rome and Tokyo after Durban last week became the latest city to rule itself out.

Doha is expected to make a decision in the next few days about whether to bid or not.

Source: www.insidethegames.biz

By Duncan Mackay