Boston Selected as US Nominee for 2024 Olympics

Beating out Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco was Boston’s first stage win in their bid to host what could potentially be the first Olympic games in their city, as well as the first summer Olympic games in the United States since Atlanta’s 1996 hosting.

Now, the campaign will begin to persuade the International Olympic Committee to award Boston the games over Rome, potentially Paris and Berlin, and South Africa, who are expected to bid for the 2024 Games and bring the Olympics to Africa for the first time.

IOC President Thomas Bach says Boston will be a “strong” contender to host, adding that the bid “has the great potential to build on the strength of the athletes from the US Olympic Team.”

A protest group called No Boston Olympics has spoken out firmly against the bid, releasing at statement that read that the group would “need your continued support as we move forward. Please join us for a public meeting on Wednesday, January 16th to be held in Boston or Cambridge. And its not just Metro Boston residents who should join, but citizens and taxpayers in Worcester, Springfield, North Adams, Dartmouth, and Lowell – citizens across the Commonwealth who will bear the risk from the promises Boston2024 has made to the USOC, all without public input.”

Currently, the city is short on several of the major facilities required for host cities, including an Olympics stadium, but the $4.5 billion dollar proposal to the IOC covers all the necessary upgrades. Skeptics contend that the projected cost is a gross underestimation, citing the $40 billion dollar cost of the summer games in Beijing.

Boston will have to make their formal bid by September of this year. A June poll by The Boston Globe showed that 47% of residents wanted the Olympics in their city, while 43% are against it.