A total of ten NOCs/cities have submitted their application to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to host the games of the 29th Olympiad in 2008, the IOC announced on February 2 in Lausanne.

The ten cities, in alphabetical order, are Bangkok (Thailand), Beijing (China), Cairo (Egypt), Havana (Cuba), Istanbul (Turkey), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Osaka (Japan), Paris (France), Seville (Spain) and Toronto (Canada).

National Olympic Committees (NOCs) had until midnight, 1 February, to notify the IOC that a city within their jurisdiction was interested to apply.

The host city election procedure was radically overhauled during the 110th IOC Session in December 1999. Interested cities will have to go through a bid acceptance procedure that will review their organizational capacity before accepting them as candidates. this new system, currently being finalized by the IOC, will be formally reviewed at the IOC Executive Board in Sydeny.

Full details will be given in Lausanne on 24 February, no city will become a candidate until it is selected as such by the IOC Executive Board later this year.

After being accepted as candidates, cities and their NOCs will sign a contract. The candidates would then be required to submit their candidates file and prepare for the visit to the IOC Evaluation Commission. Individual visits by IOC members and vice Versa, will not be allowed.

The host city of the Games of the 29th Olympiad in 2008 will be elected in July 2001 in Moscow.