Havana, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul and Leipzig in Germany were dropped from an initial shortlist after a unanimous decision of the IOC's executive board, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge told a news conference.

Having survived the cull, the five cities have until July 6 next year to convince the IOC's membership to award them the world's most important sports event.

Rogge said it was possible one or more of the five cities could be removed from the list in May 2005 if the IOC did not believe they "could deliver".

Paris, which last hosted the Olympics in 1924, is viewed as the front-runner for 2012.

In deciding host cities, IOC experts give the most weight to two categories - general infrastructure and accommodation.