The city, which has a population of only 400,000, making it only the 45th largest in the country, have revealed that they are among the ten cities to have responded positively to the letter sent by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) trying to establish which American cities would be interested in bidding for the 2024 Games.

Tulsa had been interested in bidding for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics but in the end the USOC decided not to put any city forward.

"I see this as a great opportunity, I really do," Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett said.

"If we come off looking a little lighthearted on it, so much the better, but we are serious about putting our name out there."

Scott Blackmun, the chief executive of the USOC, revealed yesterday that they had received ten expressions of interest from cities interested in bidding for 2024, including Los Angeles and Philadelphia and a joint bid from San Diego and the Mexican city Tijuana, which cannot go any further forward because it is against the Olympic Charter.


There is also little chance of the USOC picking Tulsa, which claims to be the birthplace of US Route 66, but local enthusiasts are refusing to give up.

"Some people think of Tulsa as a flyover, Dust Bowl town," said Neil Mavis, a member of the Tulsa 2024 Olympic Exploratory Committee.

"Many people think of cowboys and Indians.

"Bidding for the Olympics is the one way to change those stereotypes."

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