Boston chosen as U.S. Olympic bid city

Boston will be the host city for the official U.S. bid for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, the U.S. Olympic Committee decided today at the Denver airport.

Franklin Park is among the potential venues for a Boston Olympics, putting Jamaica Plain among the neighborhoods that could directly host the Games. The park could be used for horse competitions, which has raised possibilities of park improvements, but also park closures.

The U.S. Olympic Committee, a private nonprofit organization, selected Boston over Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, in a press release, called the selection an “exceptional honor” and said it recognizes  “our city’s talent, diversity and global leadership.”

The Boston Olympic bid is the work of a private organization largely composed of local corporation leaders. The bid document remains secret, and the group held no public meetings in seeking or crafting its bid. The secrecy and the Olympic Games’ long track record of cost overruns, use of public funds, gentrification, military-style security and other negative impacts has led to organized opposition, including in JP.

“And now we must fight,” said local protesters via their Twitter account, @no_boston2024.

Boston 2024 President Dan O’Connell previously told the Gazette that public meetings will be held if Boston’s bid was chosen, and that JP would have a say in local venue placement.

Boston’s bid is still not final, with months of work remaining before getting any U.S. Olympic Committee stamp of approval. If it does move forward, it then competes with international host cities. The final decision would be made by the International Olympics Committee, based in Switzerland. That decision is expected in 2017.

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