Rome to bid for 2024 Summer Olympics

More than 50 years after it last hosted the Olympics, Rome has announced that it will bid for the 2024 Summer Games.

Italian Premier Matteo Renzi told the Associated Press that the campaign “isn’t based on great infrastructures or big dreams but rather great people. We will be at the vanguard for all the spending controls.”

The International Olympic Committee recently approved a reform package that seeks to reduce the costs associated with hosting. Economics prompted Italy to cancel a planned bid for the 2020 Summer Games.

“Our country too often seems hesitant,” Renzi said. “It’s unacceptable not to try ... or to renounce playing the game.”

Italy, which hosted the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, made its announcement the day before the U.S. Olympic Committee is scheduled to hear presentations from Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco and Washington D.C., all of whom want to bid for 2024.

The IOC’s application process will begin next year, with a host selected in 2017.