Boston Bid Ends for 2024 Olympics

Ties were "severed" after teleconference call, the AP says
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 27, 2015 2:40 PM CDT
Boston Bid Ends for 2024 Olympics
On Jan. 21, 2015, shadows of organizers and reporters pass a video display screen prior to a news conference by organizers of Boston's campaign for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Boston.    (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Boston's bid to host the 2024 Olympics is over. A person familiar with the decision told the AP that the city and the US Olympic Committee severed ties after a board teleconference today. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been made public. The decision throws the bid process—and hopes that the US will host another Olympics—into flux. Only seven weeks remain before cities have to be officially nominated. If the USOC wants to stay in the race, Los Angeles is its likely choice. The Boston bid soured within days of its beginning in January, beset by poor communication and an active opposition group that kept public support low.

It also failed to get—and keep—the support of key politicians. Earlier today, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced he would not be pressured into signing the host city contract that puts the city on the hook for any cost overruns. Gov. Charlie Baker had been unwilling to pledge his support, waiting instead to see a full report from a consulting group that wasn't scheduled to be complete until next month. The US hasn't hosted a Summer Olympics since the Atlanta Games in 1996, or any Olympics since the Salt Lake City Winter Games in 2002. That timing, along with the USOC's vastly improved relationship with its international partners, made this look like a race that was America's to lose, even against world-class cities such as Rome and Paris. (More Boston stories.)

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