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Hamburg Withdraws 2024 Summer Olympics Bid After Referendum Fails

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Hamburg withdrew its bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics over the weekend, increasing the chances the Games returning to Los Angeles.

Hamburg withdrew Sunday after a slim majority of citizens in the German city voted in a referendum not to support the bid. As of Sunday night, the vote stood at 48.4 percent in favor and 51.6 percent against.

Prior to the referendum, Hamburg's government, the Senate, confirmed it would comply with the decision made by voters at the polls.

Los Angeles and Paris remain as the front-runners, with Rome and Budapest, Hungary, also in the race.

The International Olympics Committee is scheduled to select a 2024 host in the summer of 2017.

Jeff Millman, spokesman for LA 2024, Los Angeles' Olympics bid committee, said members of the Hamburg bid committee were "great colleagues and competitors."

He said LA 2024's focus will continue to be "harnessing our innovation, creativity and proven sports heritage in designing our bid" to bring the Olympics to Los Angeles "for the first time in 28 years."

(©2015 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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