MONACO -- IOC President Thomas Bach says the process for inviting bids for the 2024 Summer Olympics will begin next month.
Bach says the International Olympic Committee plans to open the new ''invitation phase'' for potential bidders on Jan. 15, eight months before the deadline for declaration of candidacies.
Bach says the IOC will contact all national Olympic committees interested in bidding to open preliminary discussions. Meetings will be arranged in Lausanne, Switzerland, or in the potential bid cities.
He says ''it will be up to the potential candidate cities to raise the topics they think will be worthwhile raising at this point in time.''
Cities in the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Qatar and Turkey are among potential contenders.
