The team that's trying to bring the Summer Olympics to Los Angeles in 2024 departed for Rio de Janeiro Sunday ahead of the 2016 Games, whose open ceremony is Friday.
The LA 2024 Candidature Committee, led by Mayor Eric Garcetti, will study how things go in Brazil and meet with Olympic and global sports leaders in an effort to enhance the city's bid.
Garcetti is joined by LA 2024 Chairman Casey Wasserman, CEO Gene Sykes, Vice Chair and Director of Athlete Relations Janet Evans, and the entire 25-person LA 2024 staff.
The three U.S. members of the International Olympic Committee, along with United States Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun, will also play a role in the bid's activities in the coming weeks. Los Angeles is the official USOC bid city for the 2024 Games.
"We are honored to be in Rio for the first ever Olympic Games to be staged in South America," Garcetti said. "I am looking forward to meeting members of the Olympic family, athletes and as many 'Cariocas' as possible, and sharing in this wonderful Olympic atmosphere.
"I have no doubt the LA 2024 team will learn a great deal from our experiences here so that we leave better equipped than ever to stage an innovative, sustainable and low-risk Games in a city with the Olympics in its DNA."
The Rio Olympics will run from Aug. 5-21.
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The LA 2024 committee unveiled renderings last week showing how the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the aquatics area at USC's Dedeaux Field could be spruced up for the 2024 Games.
LA 2024 officials have touted their bid as the most cost-effective and athlete-friendly option. Paris, Rome and Budapest also are vying to host the Olympics in 2024, with the International Olympic Committee expected to select the host city by September 2017.
