Few if any cities or countries have been better off after they hosted the Olympic Games. The people of Boston have figured that out and told the Olympic Committee no thanks.
The city of Boston is ending its bid for the 2024 Olympic Games, conceding to residents who’ve vocally protested the idea for months. Poll numbers have shown that a majority of people in the region were opposed to hosting the Games, which have become increasingly costly, and opponents had threatened to put the question to what would have been an embarrassing ballot measure.
On Monday morning, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said he wouldn’t sign a bid document that required the city to guarantee any cost overruns associated with the Games. Later in the day, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced that it would scramble to find another American city to compete for the 2024 job.
The news is a big victory for Bostonians who believed the Olympics would distract the city — and sap resources — from deep challenges with its transit, housing and education. And it’s a resounding defeat for the logic that Boston — or any city — needs to take on a massive sporting event to solve such problems.
City taxpayers, so often duped by the allure of sports, finally heard a promise they couldn’t believe.
And judging from past games they were right not to believe it. Boston has some major infrastructure problems but hosting the Olympic Games won’t solve them. It’s not unlike the habit here in the United States for tax payer dollars to build venues for sports teams, the toys of billionaires.
Don’t get me wrong, I think the Olympic Games are a good thing but 2 or 3 locations should be chosen to hold the games so the venues can be used over and over again. The entire bidding process is a recipe for fraud and corruption. And while we are at it we should chose a location for the winter games where there might actually be real snow although that’s going to become more difficult as climate change kicks in.