The Summer Olympics are the world's largest multi-sport event, and are organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) every four years. Selection of the host city is done at an IOC Session four to seven years prior to the tournament, in which the IOC members vote between candidate cities which have submitted bids. As of the selection of the 2016 Summer Olympics, 28 games have been held in 23 cities in 19 countries. Bids have been made by 64 cities in 34 countries.

The bid process consists of two rounds. First, cities and national Olympic committees (NOCs) may show their interest and submit a preliminary bid, becoming applicant cities. Through analysis of the questionnaires, the IOC gave a weighted-average score to each city based on the scores obtained in each of the questionnaire's eleven themes: political and social support, general infrastructure, sports venues, Olympic Village, environment, accommodation, transport, security, past experience, finance, and legacy. IOC's executive committee then selects a short-list of candidate cities. The candidate cities are investigated by the IOC Evaluation Committee, who make an evaluation report. These submit a more extensive bid book and are subject to additional evaluation, which is presented to the IOC members. Voting is by exhaustive ballot; there may be multiple rounds until a single city holds a majority of the votes. IOC members from a candidate NOC may not vote in any round while their country remains in the election.

The first three Games were not subject to bids: the first IOC Session, in 1894, awarded the first Games to Athens (1896) and Paris (1900), respectively. The 1904 Olympics were initially awarded to Chicago, but then moved to St. Louis to be co-located with the World Fair. A system of bids was introduced ahead of the 1908 Olympics, which were awarded to Rome. After the 1906 eruption of Mount Vesuvius, Italy returned the Games to IOC, which awarded them to London. The 1916 Olympics were awarded to Berlin, but cancelled due to the First World War. The 1940 Olympics were originally awarded to Tokyo, but after the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1938, they were returned to the IOC, who awarded them to Helsinki. Those Games, and the 1944 Olympics awarded to London, were ultimately cancelled due to the Second World War. The 1956 Olympics were awarded to Melbourne, but Australian horse quarantine rules forced the equestrian events to be held in Stockholm. Three times there have been only a single bid: Stockholm in 1912, and Los Angeles in 1932 and 1984. Starting with the 2004 Olympics, only the highest-rated cities are short-listed for the final IOC vote.

Paris hosted the 2024 Games, and thus joined London in hosting three Games, as will Los Angeles when they host the 2028 Games. London, Antwerp, Munich and Sydney are the only cities to have never failed to win a bid. St. Louis is the only city to have hosted the Games without submitting a bid. Helsinki, Minneapolis, Montreal and Munich have bid for both Summer and Winter Olympics; all but Minneapolis have succeeded at winning Summer bids, but none have held Winter Olympics. Detroit is the most unsuccessful city, having failed seven times. Los Angeles has made the most bids, succeeding three times and failing six times. Amsterdam, Budapest and Lausanne have all failed five times. The United States has made the most bids, having bid for 22 games, including all games from 1944 through 1984.

By year The following is a list of bids for the Summer Olympics. It consists of the year the Games were held or scheduled to be held, the date the decision was made, the city and country which issued the bid, the votes at the IOC Session for each voting round, and the ultimate host of the Games. The bid listed first for each games is the one selected by the IOC, whether or not it ultimately hosted the games.

Year Session Bid(s) Vote Host City Country Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 1896 — — — — — — — — Athens 1900 — — — — — — — — Paris 1904 — Chicago — — — — — St. Louis 1908 — Rome Italy — — — — — London London Milan Italy Berlin Germany 1912 — Stockholm — — — — — Stockholm 1916 — Berlin Germany — — — — — Berlin (cancelled) Alexandria Amsterdam Brussels Budapest Austria-Hungary Cleveland 1920 — Antwerp — — — — — Antwerp Amsterdam Lyon Atlanta Budapest Cleveland Havana Lyon Philadelphia 1924 — Paris — — — — — Paris Amsterdam Barcelona Los Angeles Prague Rome Italy 1928 — Amsterdam — — — — — Amsterdam Los Angeles 1932 4 October 1929 Los Angeles — — — — — Los Angeles 1936 — Berlin Germany 43 — — — — Berlin Barcelona 16 Alexandria Egypt — Budapest — Buenos Aires — Cologne Germany — Dublin — Frankfurt Germany — Helsinki — Lausanne — Montevideo — Nuremberg Germany — Rio de Janeiro — Rome Italy — 1940 31 August 1936 Tokyo — — — — — Tokyo (cancelled) Helsinki 1944 — London — — — — — London (cancelled) Rome Italy Detroit Lausanne Athens Greece Budapest Helsinki Montreal Canada 1948 — London — — — — — London Baltimore Lausanne Los Angeles Minneapolis Philadelphia 1952 21 June 1947 Helsinki 14 15 — — — Helsinki Los Angeles 4 5 Minneapolis 4 5 Amsterdam 3 3 Detroit 2 — Chicago 1 — Philadelphia 0 — Athens Greece 0 — Lausanne 0 — Stockholm 0 — 1956 28 April 1949 Melbourne 14 18 19 21 — Melbourne Buenos Aires 9 12 13 20 Los Angeles 5 4 5 — Detroit 2 4 4 — Mexico City Mexico 9 3 — — Chicago 1 — — — Minneapolis 1 — — — Philadelphia 1 — — — San Francisco 0 — — — Montreal Canada 0 — — — 1960 15 June 1955 Rome 15 26 35 — — Rome Lausanne 14 21 24 Detroit 6 11 — Budapest 8 1 — Brussels 6 — — Mexico City 6 — — Tokyo 6 — — 1964 26 May 1959 Tokyo 30 — — — — Tokyo Detroit 10 Vienna 9 Brussels 5 1968 18 October 1963 Mexico City 30 — — — — Mexico City Detroit 14 Lyon 12 Buenos Aires 2 1972 25 April 1966 Munich 29 31 — — — Munich Madrid Spain 16 16 Montreal 6 13 Detroit 6 — 1976 12 May 1970 Montreal 25 41 — — — Montreal Moscow 28 28 Los Angeles 17 — 1980 13 October 1974 Moscow 39 — — — — Moscow Los Angeles 20 1984 18 May 1978 Los Angeles — — — — — Los Angeles 1988 30 September 1981 Seoul 52 — — — — Seoul Nagoya 27 1992 16 October 1986 Barcelona 29 37 47 — — Barcelona Paris 19 20 23 Brisbane 11 9 10 Belgrade 13 11 5 Birmingham 8 8 — Amsterdam 5 — — 1996 18 September 1990 Atlanta 19 20 26 34 51 Atlanta Athens 23 23 26 30 35 Toronto 14 17 18 22 — Melbourne 12 21 16 — — Manchester 11 5 — — — Belgrade 7 — — — — 2000 23 September 1993 Sydney 30 30 37 45 — Sydney Beijing 32 37 40 43 Manchester 11 13 11 — Berlin 9 9 — — Istanbul 7 — — — Brasília Withdrew Milan Tashkent 2004 5 September 1997 Athens 32 — 38 52 66 Athens Rome 23 — 28 35 41 Cape Town 16 62 22 20 — Stockholm 20 — 19 — — Buenos Aires 16 44 — — — Istanbul — — — — — Lille — — — — — Rio de Janeiro — — — — — Saint Petersburg — — — — — San Juan — — — — — Seville — — — — — 2008 13 July 2001 Beijing 44 56 — — — Beijing Toronto 20 22 Paris 15 18 Istanbul 17 9 Osaka 6 — Bangkok — — Cairo — — Havana — — Kuala Lumpur — — Seville — — 2012 6 July 2005 London 22 27 39 54 — London Paris 21 25 33 50 Madrid 20 32 31 — New York City 19 16 — — Moscow 15 — — — Havana — — — — Istanbul — — — — Leipzig — — — — Rio de Janeiro — — — — 2016 2 October 2009 Rio de Janeiro 26 46 66 — — Rio de Janeiro Madrid 28 29 32 Tokyo 22 20 — Chicago 18 — — Baku — — — Doha — — — Prague — — — 2020 7 September 2013 Tokyo 42 — 60 — — Tokyo Istanbul 26 49 36 Madrid 26 45 — Baku — — — Doha — — — Rome Withdrew 2024 13 September 2017 Paris Unanimous Paris Los Angeles Withdrew; selected for the 2028 bid instead Budapest Withdrew Hamburg Rome 2028 13 September 2017 Los Angeles Unanimous Los Angeles 2032 21 July 2021 Brisbane 72 Yes, 5 No, 3 Abstention (93.5% of valid votes) Brisbane Ahmedabad Did not advance to targeted dialogue phase Jakarta Rhine-Ruhr Doha Madrid 2036 2029 Ahmedabad TBA Budapest Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg Doha Istanbul Munich Seoul and North Jeolla Province

By city The following is a list of cities' bids. It lists the country, city, and year for which failed, withdrawn, and successful bids were submitted. Parentheses indicate that the city was awarded the Games without a bidding process. A dagger () indicates that the city was awarded the Games, but that they were ultimately not held in the city, because the Games were either canceled or moved. An asterisk (*) indicates that the bid was not shortlisted. A double asterisk (**) indicates that the bid was withdrawn.

Country City Potential/failed/withdrawn bids Successful bids Buenos Aires 1936, 1956, 1968, 2004 — Brisbane 1992 2032 Hobart 2020 — Melbourne 1996 1956 Sydney — 2000 Vienna 1964 — Baku 2016*, 2020* — Antwerp — 1920 Brussels 1916, 1960, 1964 — Brasília 2000** — Rio de Janeiro 1936, 2004*, 2012* 2016 Montreal 1944, 1956, 1972 1976 Toronto 1996, 2008 — Beijing 2000 2008 Havana 1920, 2008*, 2012* — /Czechoslovakia Prague 1924, 2016* — Alexandria 1916, 1936 — Cairo 2008* — Helsinki 1936, 1944 1940 1952 Lille 2004* — Lyon 1920, 1968 — Paris 1992, 2008, 2012 1900, 1924, 2024 Berlin 1908, 2000 1916, 1936 Cologne 1936 — Frankfurt 1936 — Hamburg 2024** — Leipzig 2012* — Munich 2036 1972 Nuremberg 1936 — Birmingham 1992 — London — 1908, 1944, 1948, 2012 Manchester 1996, 2000 — Athens 1944, 1952, 1996 1896, 2004 / Budapest 1916, 1920, 1936, 1944, 1960, 2024**, 2036 — Ahmedabad 2032, 2036 — Jakarta 2032 — Dublin 1936 — Milan 1908, 2000** — Rome 1924, 1936, 1944, 2004, 2020**, 2024** 1908, 1960 Nagoya 1988 — Osaka 2008 — Tokyo 1960, 2016 1940, 1964, 2020 Kuala Lumpur 2008* — Mexico City 1956, 1960 1968 Amsterdam 1916, 1920, 1924, 1952, 1992 1928 San Juan 2004* — Doha 2016*, 2020*, 2036 — / Moscow 1976, 2012 1980 Saint Petersburg 2004* — Cape Town 2004 — Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg 2036 — Seoul — 1988 Seoul and North Jeolla Province 2036 — Barcelona 1936 1992 Madrid 1972, 2012, 2016, 2020 — Seville 2004*, 2008* — Stockholm 1952, 2004 1912, 1956 Lausanne 1936, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1960 — Bangkok 2008* — Istanbul 2000, 2004*, 2008, 2012*, 2020, 2036 — Atlanta 1920 1996 Baltimore 1948 — Boston 2024 — Chicago 1952, 1956, 2016 1904 Cleveland 1916, 1920 — Detroit 1944, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972 — Los Angeles 1924, 1928, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1976, 1980, 2024** 1932, 1984, 2028 Minneapolis 1948, 1952, 1956 — New York City 2012 — Philadelphia 1920, 1948, 1952, 1956 — San Francisco 1956 — St. Louis — 1904 Washington, D.C. 2024 — Tashkent 2000** — / Belgrade 1992, 1996 —

By country The following is a list of bids submitted by each national Olympic committee, listing the country and years it bid. Only countries that have submitted bids from multiple cities are included. Successful bids are in boldface. A parenthesis indicates that the city was awarded the games without a bidding process. A dagger () indicates that the city was awarded the games, but that they were ultimately not held in the city, either because the games were cancelled or moved.

Country Years 1956, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2020, 2032 1916, 1920, 1960, 1964 1936, 2000, 2004, 2012, 2016 1944, 1956 1972, 1976, 1996, 2008 1916, 1936, 2008 1900, 1920, 1924, 1968, 1992, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2024 1908, 1916, 1936, 1972, 2000, 2012 1908, 1944, 1948, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2012 1908, 1924, 1936, 1944, 1960, 2000, 2004, 2020, 2024 1940, 1960, 1964, 1988, 2008, 2016, 2020 1920, 1924, 1928, 1952, 1992 / 1976, 1980, 2004, 2012 1936, 1972, 1992, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020 1904, 1916, 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1996, 2012, 2016, 2024, 2028

See also Bids for Olympic Games List of bids for the Winter Olympics

Notes