Boston has withdrawn as a candidate for the 2024 Olympics, citing a lack of public support as the US Olympic Committee pondered a replacement bid ahead of a looming deadline.
A quest that began six months ago when Boston defeated Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington to become the US hopeful for the 2024 race ended on Monday (local time) shortly after Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said he was not ready to commit taxpayers to financing any cost overruns for the multi-sport spectacle.
Add the lack of support from Boston citizens for the idea in multiple polls and US Olympic Committee chief executive Scott Blackmun had little choice but to pull the plug.
"We have not been able to get a majority of the citizens of Boston to support hosting the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, therefore, the USOC does not think that the level of support enjoyed by Boston's bid would allow it to prevail over great bids from Paris, Rome, Hamburg, Budapest or Toronto," Blackmun said in a statement.
"Boston 2024 has expressed confidence that, with more time, they could generate the public support necessary to win the bid and deliver a great Games. They also recognise, however, that we are out of time if the USOC is going to be able to consider a bid from another city. As a result, we have reached a mutual agreement to withdraw Boston's bid."
With only seven weeks before official nominations are due to the International Olympic Committee, US officials are in the humbling position of having to pull together a short-notice plan to offer against their global rivals.
The United States has not hosted the Summer Olympics since 1996 in Atlanta and has not hosted the Winter Olympics since 2002 at Salt Lake City.
A 2012 New York bid was undone by the last-minute wipeout of the planned main stadium site while a 2016 Chicago bid was the first ousted in IOC voting.
"The USOC would very much like to see an American city host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024," Blackmun said.
"We will immediately begin to explore whether we can do so on a basis consistent with our guiding principles, to which we remain firmly committed. We understand the reality of the timeline that is before us."
AFP
