DENVER – After a long deliberation with zero media allowed, the United States Olympic Committee chose Boston as the official bid city for the U.S. for the 2024 Olympics.
A total of four cities were in the running with earlier media reports stating that San Francisco and Los Angeles were the final two after Boston and Washington, D.C. both were removed earlier in the day. But, in a surprise announcement via Twitter, the USOC anointed Boston as the 2024 Bid City.
BREAKING: The USOC selects #Boston2024 as U.S. bid to host the 2024 Olympic & Paralympic Games http://t.co/P7IDlycrJ6 pic.twitter.com/zWS1i3WRo5
— US Olympic Team (@USOlympic) January 8, 2015
“We’re excited about our plans to submit a bid for the 2024 Games and feel we have an incredibly strong partner in Boston that will work with us to present a compelling bid,” USOC Chairman Larry Probst said. “We’re grateful to the leaders in each of the four cities for their partnership and interest in hosting the most exciting sports competition on earth. The deliberative and collaborative process that we put in place for selecting a city has resulted in a strong U.S. bid that can truly serve the athletes and the Olympic and Paralympic movements.”
Boston will now be part of a bid process that begins this year and ends with an announcement on Sept. 15, 2017 in Lima, Peru as part of the 130th International Olympic Committee Session.
“Today’s selection by the USOC is the beginning of an incredible opportunity for Boston,” said Boston 2024 Chairman John Fish. “This bid has already provided our many educational institutions, community and business leaders, and elected officials a unique opportunity to collaborate like never before to promote our city to the world. Going forward, Boston 2024 is committed to a thorough and extensive process to discuss the potential opportunity the Olympic and Paralympic Games present our community. Boston is a global hub for education, health care, research and technology. We are passionate about sports because we believe in the power of sport to transform our city and inspire the world’s youth. A Boston Games can be one of the most innovative, sustainable and exciting in history and will inspire the next generation of leaders here and around the world.”
The U.S. last hosted an Olympic Games in 2002, the Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City. The previous Summer Games in the U.S. were the 1996 Atlanta Games. Previously, the USOC supported a bid for the 2016 Olympic by Chicago, which included a huge contingent of supporters including Oprah Winfrey and a last-ditch effort by President Barack Obama to save the bid. But, Rio de Janeiro came out on top of that bid process.
The 2024 Games are seen as being within the reach of a strong American bid — but the winning city will face stiff competition, including Rome, a yet-to-be-named German city, and possibly Paris or South Africa.
Boston will spend the next two years trying to gain support on the International Olympic Committee, which will choose a host city for the 2024 Games in 2017.
The 2016 Olympics will be in Rio de Janeiro and the 2020 Games – which the USOC did not mount a bid for – will be in Tokyo.
One of the biggest issues facing future Olympic sites is cost-effectiveness. Many recent Olympic host cities have faced crippling cost overruns and long-term debt.
Here’s a quick look at what the four cities initially offered as potential bid cities to the USOC (special thanks to TeamUSA.org):
Boston
Population*: 636,000
Tourist Attractions: Freedom Trail, Faneuil Hall, Boston Common, Old North Church, Harvard University
Major Sporting Venues: Fenway Park, TD Garden, Gillette Stadium
Notable Sports Events Held in City: Boston Marathon, Head of the Charles
Homegrown Olympians: Tenley Albright, Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig, Aly Raisman
Main industries: Biotech; education
Los Angeles
Population*: 3.8 million
Tourist Attractions: Hollywood Sign, Walk of Fame, The Grove, Universal Studio, Disneyland, Rodeo Drive
Major Sporting Venues: Staples Center, StubHub Center, Rose Bowl, Honda Center, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Dodger Stadium
Notable Sports Events Held In City: Olympic Games (1932, 1984), FIFA World Cup Final
Homegrown Olympians: Michelle Kwan, Venus and Serena Williams, Janet Evans
Main Industry: Entertainment
San Francisco
Population*: 825,000
Tourist Attractions: Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf, Cable Cars, Lombard Street
Major Sporting Venues: Levi’s Stadium, Oracle Arena, O.co Coliseum, AT&T Park
Notable Sports Events Held in City: Bay to Breakers, America’s Cup
Homegrown Olympians: Peggy Fleming, Kristi Yamaguchi, Natalie Coughlin, Kerri Walsh Jennings
Main industry: Technology
Washington, D.C.
Population*: 632,000
Tourist Attractions: The White House, The Capitol, Washington Monument, Smithsonian, The Mall, National Zoo, Cherry Blossoms
Major Sporting Venues: FedEx Field, Verizon Center, Nationals Park
Notable Sports Events Held in City: Marine Corps Marathon, Citi Open
Homegrown Olympians: Dominique Dawes, LaShawn Merritt, Kevin Durant, Katie Ledecky
Main industry: Politics
*Note: Population as of 2012
USOC PRESS RELEASE ON BOSTON 2024 SUMMER OLYMPICS BID CITY SELECTION
DENVER – Boston will represent the United States in its bid for the opportunity to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the United States Olympic Committee announced today. The decision followed a spirited discussion and more than one round of voting. Ultimately, the Boston bid received the unanimous endorsement of the USOC’s board of directors.
Today’s announcement followed final presentations from representatives from each of the four cities in December 2014. The 22-month domestic evaluation process began with outreach to approximately 35 U.S. cities and six months of collaborative discussions with the four finalists regarding the technical elements required to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“We’re excited about our plans to submit a bid for the 2024 Games and feel we have an incredibly strong partner in Boston that will work with us to present a compelling bid,” said USOC Chairman Larry Probst. “We’re grateful to the leaders in each of the four cities for their partnership and interest in hosting the most exciting sports competition on earth. The deliberative and collaborative process that we put in place for selecting a city has resulted in a strong U.S. bid that can truly serve the athletes and the Olympic and Paralympic movements.”
The International Olympic Committee’s deadline for 2024 bid submissions is Sept. 15, 2015, with the host city to be determined in 2017. The timeline for the 2024 bidding process was announced during the IOC Extraordinary Session in early December, during which time Olympic Agenda 2020 was finalized. Among the 40 recommendations – which were unanimously approved – the reform package allows for a more flexible and cost-effective bidding process.
“Today’s decision begins the next phase in our 2024 bid campaign, and we couldn’t be more excited about the partnership we’ve established with the leadership team in Boston,” said USOC CEO Scott Blackmun. “This bid uniquely combines an exciting, athlete-focused concept for hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games with Boston’s existing long-term vision. We look forward to working with Mayor Walsh and the Boston 2024 team to fully engage with the local community and identify ways we can make the bid even better.”
“It is an exceptional honor for Boston to be chosen as the U.S. representative in the running for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. “This selection is in recognition of our city’s talent, diversity and global leadership. Our goal is to host Olympic and Paralympic Games that are innovative, walkable and hospitable to all. Boston hopes to welcome the world’s greatest athletes to one of the world’s great cities.”
“Today’s selection by the USOC is the beginning of an incredible opportunity for Boston,” said Boston 2024 Chairman John Fish. “This bid has already provided our many educational institutions, community and business leaders, and elected officials a unique opportunity to collaborate like never before to promote our city to the world. Going forward, Boston 2024 is committed to a thorough and extensive process to discuss the potential opportunity the Olympic and Paralympic Games present our community. Boston is a global hub for education, health care, research and technology. We are passionate about sports because we believe in the power of sport to transform our city and inspire the world’s youth. A Boston Games can be one of the most innovative, sustainable and exciting in history and will inspire the next generation of leaders here and around the world.”
Under the new structure, the IOC will meet with representatives from each applicant city from Oct. 7-9, 2015, in Lausanne, Switzerland, to establish rules and procedures for the international bidding campaign. Cities will then have until Jan. 8, 2016, to submit final bids to the IOC.
“The Olympic Games are unique in their ability to bring the world together in celebration and unity,” said IOC Executive Board Member Anita DeFrantz. “I very much want to bring the Games to the United States to share the incredible spirit of the Games with another generation of Americans, and advance the Olympic and Paralympic movements.”
“The United States has something unique to offer the athletes of the world and the Olympic and Paralympic movements as a whole,” said IOC Member Angela Ruggiero. “I couldn’t be more excited to share Boston’s athlete-focused vision for the Games with my IOC colleagues.”
The U.S. last hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 1996 (Atlanta). St. Louis hosted in 1904 and Los Angeles held the Games in both 1932 and 1984.