The Swiss city of Lausanne will find out in less than five months if it has succeeded in its bid to become the permanent headquarters of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The agency, which aims to coordinate the global campaign against drugs in sport, said on Tuesday that it would be announcing its final decision on July 31 or August 1.

Lausanne, which has provided a temporary base for the agency since it was established in 1999, also learned on Tuesday that it would be facing competition from just four other cities (Bonn, Montreal, Stockholm and Vienna) in the bid to house the agency on a permanent basis.

The race was narrowed down to five rival cities after the French city of Lille failed to submit its dossier in time for the February 28 deadline. WADA's president Dick Pound said on Tuesday that the dossier had arrived a day late.

The agency added that a five-member evaluation team, comprising representatives of the Olympic movement, government officials and an athlete, would be visiting the five rival cities in April.

The Swiss government appeared to give Lausanne's bid a boost on Monday when it announced that it would grant WADA tax exemption if it chose to make Switzerland its permanent home.

The government is arguing that Lausanne would provide a logical location for WADA, since the region already hosts 17 international sports governing bodies as well as the International Olympic Committee.

Critics, though, have argued that proximity to the IOC would make it difficult for WADA to act independently.

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