The United States’ capital seems set to pitch for the 2024 Games, with a panel in place to manage the bid.

Washington DC was one of 35 cities to receive a letter from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) earlier this year seeking candidates.

“We are the safest and most secure city in the world,” DC 2024 president, Bob Sweeney, said. “The largest expense of any Olympic Games is security and the fact that we’ve got it pretty [much] built in to our everyday life here in Washington, we would leverage that asset tremendously to put on this high-profile event.”

Philadelphia, Seattle, Los Angeles and a joint bid from San Diego and Mexican city Tijuana are among the other candidates to have shown interest. The USOC plans to create a shortlist of two or three by this December ahead of the IOC’s final selection in 2017.