Italian capital Rome is set to join the race to host the 2024 Olympic Games, after the city council (Comune di Roma) voted in favour of launching an official bid.

The vote comes two days after French capital Paris joined Boston, US and Hamburg, Germany in the group of cities looking to host the Games, with Budapest, Hungary also mulling over a candidacy.

Announcing the result of the vote, Rome’s mayor Ignazio Marino, said: "Just like Barcelona in 1992 and London in 2012, the Rome 2024 Olympics will leave a renewed, modern and sustainable identity for our city.

"This is a vote that looks to the future and an opportunity to think about the city for the next generation.

"Today's achievement is just the first step in a long journey which will continue over the next two years and which we must make together, in unity. This is the only way to achieve our goals."

The renewed interest in bidding for the Games comes just three years after former Prime Minister Mario Monti scrapped plans for a Rome bid for the 2020 Games due to financial concerns.

The “eternal city” has hosted the Olympic Games once before, in 1960.