It is the members of the IOC, meeting at their Session, who choose the hosts. Electing hosts for the Olympic Games is one of the responsibilities of the Session.
A host is elected by a majority of the votes cast by secret ballot. Each active member has one vote. An IOC member must refrain from voting if the election concerns a country where he or she is a national.
The honorary members, honour members and suspended members are not allowed to vote. If a majority is not achieved in the first round of voting, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and a further round or rounds of voting are held until a majority is obtained by one candidate.
The IOC is permanently open to discussions with any cities, regions or countries and their National Olympic Committees (NOCs), in any part of the world, who are interested in hosting the Games of the Olympiad, the Olympic Winter Games, the Youth Olympic Games, or the Winter Youth Olympic Games.
The process is overseen by two permanent Future Host Commissions, one for summer and one for winter Games. These Commissions, comprised of IOC Members and other Olympic Movement stakeholders, make recommendations to the IOC Executive Board (EB) regarding possible future hosts. The EB decides if any should be put forward for election by the Session.