Sport

Boston chosen as North American 2024 Olympics candidate

Beat off competition from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington DC

The Charles River in Boston. The city is planning a downsized, compressed, antisprawl Olympics, with a walkable, bikeable, sustainable Games that uses mostly pre-existing structures. (Erik Jacobs/The New York Times)
The Charles River in Boston. The city is planning a downsized, compressed, antisprawl Olympics, with a walkable, bikeable, sustainable Games that uses mostly pre-existing structures. (Erik Jacobs/The New York Times)
Fri Jan 09 2015 - 11:53

Boston will bid to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the United States Olympic Committee has announced.

The Massachusetts city beat off competition from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C. to be the United States’ candidate and joins Rome and an as yet undecided German city in the race to host the 2024 Games.

The International Olympic Committee’s deadline for bid submissions is September 15 and the host city will be chosen in 2017.

“We’re excited about our plans to submit a bid for the 2024 Games and feel we have an incredibly strong partner in Boston that will work with us to present a compelling bid,” USOC chairman Larry Probst said in a statement on www.teamusa.org.

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“We’re grateful to the leaders in each of the four cities for their partnership and interest in hosting the most exciting sports competition on earth.

“The deliberative and collaborative process that we put in place for selecting a city has resulted in a strong U.S. bid that can truly serve the athletes and the Olympic and Paralympic movements.”

The United States last hosted the summer Games in Atlanta in 1996 and New York and Chicago had failed bids to host the 2012 and 2016 Games respectively.

“It is an exceptional honour for Boston to be chosen as the U.S. representative in the running for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Boston Mayor Marty Walsh.

“This selection is in recognition of our city’s talent, diversity and global leadership.

“Our goal is to host Olympic and Paralympic Games that are innovative, walkable and hospitable to all.

“Boston hopes to welcome the world’s greatest athletes to one of the world’s great cities.”

The next summer Games will be held in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 with Tokyo hosting in 2020.