As the world readies itself for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, little ol’ Boston is making strides in asserting itself as a prime spot for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, along with members of the Boston 2024 Partnership and an absent Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, held a gathering Monday evening to honor former Olympians and Paralympians. The event took place at the Blazing Paddles sports bar near Fenway Park, and Walsh used it as an opportunity to express his support for Boston’s bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.
“Boston is known across the world for its sports prowess, and this impressive group of Massachusetts-bred Olympians is a testament to our sporting spirit,” Walsh said in a Thursday statement prior to the event. “My hope is that regardless of the outcome, the Boston 2024 effort will promote a better long-term relationship with our local Olympic heroes.”
The last time the United States hosted the Olympic games was the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and before that, the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Obviously, preparing to host these games is a daunting task for any city. In the seven years a city gets to prepare, it must build massive athletic and residential facilities, perfect its transportation system, solidify its infrastructure and work out an unfathomable number of logistics.
Although one of the primary motivations for hosting the Olympics is the economic boost from tourism, studies show that tourism rates usually drop during the games. During the 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta’s hotel occupancy rates dropped from 73 percent in 1995 to 68 percent in its Olympic year. Similarly, when Sydney, Australia hosted the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, their hotel rates dropped from 83 percent in March of that year to 68 percent in July and August, according to the European Tour Operators Association in their 2006 “Olympic Report.”
“The audiences regularly cited for such events as the Olympics are exaggerated,” the report stated. “Attendances at the Games displace normal visitors and scare tourists away for some time. There appears to be little evidence of any benefit to tourism of hosting an Olympic Games and considerable evidence of damage.”
Another issue in hosting the Olympics, particularly for a small city such as Boston, is preparing the infrastructure. Let’s face it, Boston is a small city. How will the several enormous facilities necessary for Olympic games fit? And what will be done with them once the Olympics is over? These issues cast a dark cloud over the potential of Boston as an Olympic host, but any city would have to deal with similar problems.
Additionally, Walsh said Monday that having a 2024 deadline for all the projects Boston already has planned, such as an improved transportation system and renovations of Allston, could spur the city to bring these blueprints to fruition.
Boston is just one of many cities across the world fighting for the opportunity to host the 2024 games. After countries have decided which city to use as their “bid city,” the International Olympic Committee convenes to judge them based off size, ability to fund and the amount of positive media exposure the city is capable of getting. If a city passes round one, it is considered a “Candidate City” and after paying a $150,000+ application fee, is sent to a final round of judging before being chosen.
However, before the IOC even considers selecting a U.S. host, Boston still has to compete with its fellow American cities, of which there are three other options still being considered: Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington. D.C. Los Angeles has a population of 3.884 million as of 2013, making it the second most populated city in the United States and probably not the best option. Its California neighbor, San Francisco, has a much more realistic number with a population of about 850,000, but its lack of a substantial underground subway system would make it difficult for tourists and athletes alike to navigate through the city.
That leaves D.C. and Boston. D.C. has a feasible population and well-run metro service, but it is the home of the nation’s federal government, and the United States has a fair amount of enemies at the moment, some of who will be competing in the 2024 games. Any city hosting the Olympics rises to the forefront of the world media, but do we really want our capital to be subject to the potential terrorist threats attached to an Olympic host city? Considering all of these factors, maybe Boston is the best choice in the country.
So hosting the Olympic games would bring chaos to Boston. Who cares? By 2024, most of us Boston University students will be out of here anyway.
