Approximately 30 protesters gathered in front of the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston Monday to rally in opposition of Boston’s bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Boston 2024, a private organization that has spearheaded the push for Boston to host the games, submitted Boston’s bid to the U.S. Olympic Committee on Dec. 1 without getting any community input beforehand, according to No Boston Olympics, the group in opposition to the games coming to the city. The rally was held preceding a forum hosted by The Boston Globe to discuss both sides of the issue.
Robin Jacks, 34, of Jamaica Plain, one of the organizers of No Boston Olympics, said she disagrees with Boston 2024’s actions and does not feel that the group who submitted the bid represents all of Boston.
“There’s been no community input on any of this,” she said. “They’re claiming to be speaking on behalf of the city, but they’re not. The city didn’t cosign on any of this. It’s just a small number of people in the city who are speaking for the rest of us, and we don’t have any input. It’s terrible.”
Jacks said the games will specifically have a negative impact on minority populations in Boston.
“Franklin Park, where the horse dressage is proposed, is bordered on most sides by communities of color. So those neighborhoods, inevitably, are going to be highly policed,” Jacks said. “I’m sure that no one who has a street that borders Franklin Park is going to be able to stay there. It just doesn’t seem feasible. It’s a nightmare.”
Boston 2024 state that the opportunity to host the games could bring immeasurable benefits, including economic growth and acceleration of improvements in housing, transportation and infrastructure, according to its website.
Kade Crockford, 31, of Dorchester, another organizer of the event, said Boston would be moving in the wrong direction by hosting the Olympics.
“We need to be figuring out how to democratize our government, and instead, this hands the reigns of our city government over to private interests who stand to make a lot of money,” she said.
The protesters, huddled in the cold, chanted, “Who gets the gold? CEOs!” and “No justice, no games!” in unison.
Several attendees said hosting the 2024 Olympics in Boston would ultimately be detrimental to the city and its residents.
“We’re here tonight because there’s been no public input into the Olympic bid for Boston,” said Nathan Eckstrom, 35, of Jamaica Plain. “We think it’s a terrible idea for Boston, but currently, the only people who have had any say in it is the Boston 2024 committee … they weren’t elected, and they have taken no public input either.”
Eckstrom said there are greater priorities that the city should be focusing on rather than hosting the Olympics.
“In Boston, we have a lot of issues to deal with [including] public transport, housing, health care, especially, and we don’t need to host a three-week party as a diversion from all that,” he said.
Also in the running for the U.S. bid is San Francisco, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. The USOC is expected to announce their choice for the U.S. bid in January, and the International Olympic Committee will select a 2024 host in 2017.
Aaron Leibowitz, 22, of Somerville, said the people of Boston would not benefit from the Olympics being held in the city.
“Well, basically in every Olympics, the only people who truly benefit from the games are CEOs, people involved with construction, people who work with security, stand to benefit from the games while the general public ends up footing the bill when the budget goes over,” he said.
Allison Nevitt, 51, of Jamaica Plain, said she largely took issue with the decision being made without the consent of the public, and Boston will not see benefits to hosting the Olympics.
“Looking at the history of how Olympics have affected cities, they don’t fare well. I don’t want to see that happen in Boston,” she said. “I don’t like the message that we’re only going to have the will to improve our public transportation system if we’re inviting international elites to a party. That’s a really bad message about social responsibility, our concern for our own sustainability.”
