Bidding process starts for 2020 Olympics

LAUSSANE, Switzerland, May 23 (UPI) -- The International Olympic Committee has opened the bidding process for locations interested in being the host for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

The IOC in a release Monday set up the timetable for the bidding with the first deadline for candidate cities to be nominated by their national Olympic committees by Sept. 1. The multi-step process will conclude with the selection of the site Sept. 7, 2013, during IOC meetings in Argentina.

Rome, which was the site of 1960 Olympic Games, is the only city so far to have been formally nominated but Australia, Azerbaijan, Canada, India, Qatar and South Africa are among countries expected to enter the process.

The 2012 Summer Games are set for London and the 2016 event will be contested in Brazil. The 2014 Winter Games have been awarded to Sochi, Russia, and the 2018 Winter Games are to be awarded July 6. Cities competing for those Games are Annecy, France; Munich, Germany, and Pyeongchang, South Korea.