Two years ago Boston was in the midst of an epic showdown over whether to proceed with a bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. In January 2015, Boston was designated the US entry in the international sweepstakes, and the odds of the city landing the global spectacle seemed favorable, given that no US city […]
Olympics 2024
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
The gay marriage-Boston 2024 connection
I CLOSELY FOLLOWED the debate around the Boston 2024 Olympics bid, and it seemed odd to me at first, but I just kept connecting it to the gay marriage fight, which I lived through as a citizen of Massachusetts 10 years ago. Eventually, light dawned over the South End and I realized why. Just like […]
Posted inOlympics, The Download
An Olympic accounting
Thank God it’s over.That was the overwhelming sentiment among the area’s columnists and editorial pages. Boston Globe columnists Joan Vennochi, Dan Shaughnessy, Dante Ramos, John Powers, and Kevin Cullen all welcomed the end of Boston’s Olympic dreams. So did the Boston Herald’s editorial page and columnists Howie Carr and Steve Buckley, as well as Boston magazine’s Kyle […]
Posted inOlympics
What does Boston’s withdrawal say about the city?
Statement of No Boston Olympics Boston is a world-class city. We are a city with an important past and a bright future. We got that way by thinking big, but also thinking smart. We need to move forward as a city, and today’s decision allows us to do that on our own terms, not the terms […]
Posted inOlympics, Politics
Olympic end signals bright future for Boston
THE END OF the Boston 2024 Olympic bid says a lot about Boston 2015, and what it says bodes well for our future. Perhaps the most important take-away is that Boston is a city energized by a younger cohort of activists who have a clear and specific vision for this place, and who will not […]
Posted inOlympics
Boston drops out of running for Olympics
THE PRIVATE GROUP seeking to host a Boston Olympics in 2024 dropped its bid on Monday, shortly after Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Gov. Charlie Baker told the US Olympic Committee that they needed more time before committing to the effort. Scott Blackmun, the CEO of the US Olympic Committee, issued a joint statement with […]
Posted inOlympics, The Download
A Herald blackout and Olympic assurance that ‘people adjust’
If a debate falls on a Thursday night in a semi-forested office park but no one from the Boston Herald is there to hear it, did it really happen? Last night’s Boston Olympics showdown was the story of the day, but its sponsorship by Fox 25 and the Boston Globe seems to have gotten in the […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
Five takeaways from the Olympics debate
THIS BOSTON OLYMPICS DEBATE was a train wreck. There were occasional flashes of insight, but overall the two reporters asking the questions and the four debaters answering them did little to illuminate the subject matter. They tossed numbers around indiscriminately, they got sidetracked on seemingly inconsequential issues, and they ended up all too often talking […]
Posted inOlympics, Opinion
4 things to watch in Olympics debate
THURSDAY NIGHT, Boston 2024 and No Boston Olympics will meet in a debate hosted by Fox25 and the Boston Globe. Boston 2024’s representatives will be chairman Steve Pagliuca and Daniel Doctoroff, a board member of both Boston 2024 and the US Olympic Committee. Their opponents will be Chris Dempsey, the cochair of No Boston Olympics, […]
Posted inEconomy, Olympics, Opinion
Olympics jobs shouldn’t be union only
BOSTON 2024’s second plan to host the Summer Olympics in Massachusetts attempts to convince taxpayers it’s financially feasible and responsible. However, the inclusion of a discriminatory and costly hiring policy contradicts that point. In unveiling Bid 2.0 last week, Steve Pagliuca, chairman of Boston 2024, promised the Olympics would generate “billions of dollars of spending […]