Olympic events will be able to be staged in more than one city or even in different countries in the future after new rules were agreed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) yesterday.

The 127th IOC session meeting in Monaco passed recommendations on bidding for Games despite concerns being expressed that the changes could damage the atmosphere of the Olympics.

The new rules — which would come into effect in 2024 — will also make it less costly for cities to bid to host Games, with the IOC picking up the bill for some of the costs which was brought sharply into focus when it was announced only Beijing and Almaty are bidding to host the 2022 winter Olympics.