Fast forward to this exact date, 10 years from now.
It’s the end of July 2024, and the entire world has descended upon 89-square-mile city of Boston, Mass., to take in the Opening Ceremonies of the 33rd Summer Olympic Games.
It may seem far-fetched at the moment, but Boston Mayor Marty Walsh is very optimistic about the possibility of his city playing host of the 2024 Olympics.
“I think Boston’s in a very good position,” Walsh told WGBH’s Boston Public Radio Tuesday, via Boston.com, when asked about his city’s chances of hosting. ” … We still have to talk to the public.”
Boston is one of four American cities competing for the United States’ official bid for the 2024 Games. The other three cities are Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.
Walsh is aware of the massive costs required to host the Olympics, however, and he tempered his optimism with a dose of reality.
“I’m not going to mortgage the future of the city of Boston for an Olympic bid,” Walsh said. ” … We still have a long way to go to see if we are in the running. I think we are in the running, actually.”
Fierce opposition to bringing the Olympics to Boston certainly isn’t lacking, as critics have cited the Games’ steep price tag — the 2014 Olympics in Sochi cost $51 billion, according to The Boston Globe — and Boston’s lack of space as reasons to steer clear of a bid.
The U.S. Olympic Committee will wait until next year to decide if it even wants to submit an American city for consideration, and an official host for the Games won’t be decided until 2017.
Until then, the debate rages on.
