The process starts when a city wanting to host the games applies to its country 's Olympic group . If more than one city from the same country gives a proposal to its NOC , the national group choses which city will run for host . The prospective host city applies to its country 's Olympic Committee ; if more than one city from the same country submits a proposal to its NOC , the national committee typically holds an internal selection , since only one city per NOC can be presented to the International Olympic Committee for consideration .