The enormity of the I.O.C.’s influence and the singular authority of its president are fairly recent phenomena. largely maintained a back-seat role in the operation of the Olympics, stepping aside after selecting a host city to let local organizing committees execute the Games. The most crippling recent blow to the membership’s power came when Bach took away its biggest responsibility: voting on host cities. In 2017, he unceremoniously altered the old bidding process, awarding hosting rights for two Games at once. The 2024 Games were given to Paris, while Los Angeles, also vying for those Games, was persuaded to sign on for 2028.

Source: International New York Times July 20, 2021 09:02 UTC