2024 Olympics Bids: Kenya Mulls Push To Become First African Host; France, Canada, U.S. In Mix

With the 2012 London Olympics nearing its end, a number of countries have their focus on the 2024 Olympics, with Kenya being the latest nation considering a bid for the games.

Kenya's bid would center on its capital, Nairobi, the country's prime minister said, according to Reuters. If the African nation goes on to submit a bid and win the right to host the 2024 Olympics, it would become the first country on the continent to have the games.

"Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, speaking at the Kenya National House today, announced that the Republic of Kenya will be starting the process of pitching to host the Games of the 33rd Olympiad in 2024," the government announced, according to Reuters. "If successful, these Games will be the first ever held in Africa."

A decision on the 2024 Olympics will be made in 2017 by the International Olympic Committee, although nations start campaigning for their bids two years before, according to Reuters.

The closing ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics is scheduled for Sunday, but there's already talk about which nations will be mounting bids for the 2024 Games.

Aside from Kenya, France is also considering making a bid for the 2024 Olympics, according to the Associated Press.

Francois Hollande, the country's new president, told the AP he would endorse a bid for the 2024 Olympics if "all the conditions for success are present."

"We can think about Olympic Games we would be able to host in France, probably on the 2024 horizon," Hollande said. "But before making a formal bid, we need to prepare for it well. We can't afford another failure, after three consecutive setbacks. Paris lost twice and then it was Annecy [for the 2018 Winter Olympics.] It was disappointing, and for the latest Annecy bid, it was a humiliation."

There's also talk of a 2024 Olympics co-hosted by Canada and the United States, with Toronto and Buffalo, N.Y., being the host cities.

"The question is, can we [introduce] an era where Olympic bids are joint bids between countries? And 2024 might be the opportunity for a Canada-U.S. bid," Toronto politician James Pasternak told the Toronto Sun. "If you could have a Great Lakes Olympics where you are having cities on the Great Lakes that are partnering for events - that not only makes sense geographically, from a logistical point of view, but financially as well."

The Washington, D.C., area is another possibility for a 2024 Olympics bid, although talks are in preliminary stages.

Baltimore would have to build an Olympic stadium for it to be a serious contender for the bid, according to Dan Knise, president and CEO of the Washington-Baltimore 2012 Regional Coalition.

"We would still have to build quite a bit. But [the Olympics] have perfected the use of temporary facilities. ... We would have to do an Olympic Stadium," Knise told gazette.net.

Rio de Janeiro is hosting the 2016 Olympics, marking the first time a South African country is the site of the games. A decision is expected sometime next year on whether Tokyo, Madrid or Istanbul will host the 2020 Games.