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Los Angeles ready to step into the fray, as Boston drops 2024 Olympic Games bid

Boston on Monday dropped its bid to host the 2024 Olympic Games due to lack of support from the public, but the International Olympic Committee says it is confident of finding another strong candidate. Boston’s pull-out comes just before a September nomination deadline.

Logo for the No Boston Olympics campaign
Logo for the No Boston Olympics campaign www.nobostonolympics.org
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In a statement from Malaysia, where it is currently holding a meeting, the IOC said the US “will make the right choice” and would still be able to “put forward a strong candidate by 15 September”.

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh said that he “cannot commit to putting taxpayers at risk”, according to comments in a press conference cited by the Boston Globe. It was thought that Walsh’s explanation was intended to pre-empt a decision by the US Olympic Committee (USOC) on Monday.

Walsh’s explanation differed from the USOC who blamed a lack of public support for the withdrawal of Boston’s bid.

“We have not been able to get a majority of the citizens of Boston to support hosting the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said a statement from USOC chief executive officer Scott Blackmun.

Blackmun's statement said that the USOC “would very much” like to see an American city host the games and would “immediately begin to explore” other possibilities.

The USOC was concerned that a lack of support from Boston’s residents would destroy its chances of beating other international bids, including Paris, Rome, Hamburg, Budapest and Toronto.

The No Boston Olympics campaign said that Boston's bid was not in the "best interests" of the city or the state of Massachusetts. The campaign attracted more than 3,700 followers on Twitter and 4,500 likes on Facebook.

The Summer Olympic Games have not been held in the US since 1996 in Atlanta or the Winter Olympics since 2002 in Salk Lake City.

Los Angeles is widely expected to fill the gap left by Boston. According to the Los Angeles Times, Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a statement minutes after the announcement of Boston’s withdrawal, saying he continued to believe that “Los Angeles is the ideal Olympic city” and that he would be “happy to engage in discussions” with the USOC.

A final decision on the host city for 2024 games is expected to be made in 2017 in Lima.

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