Los Angeles is now the frontrunner for hosting the 2024 Olympics. If selected as the U.S. Olympic Committee’s choice, the City of Angels will still be the second choice behind Boston.
Boston withdrew its bid on Monday, following months of contentious debates between the city and opposition groups. City officials decided they would not burden their taxpayers with this expensive venture.
Steve Pagliuca, head of Boston’s Olympic bid committee, said the city decided to focus its efforts on helping “all Bostonians find good jobs,” despite the “transformational benefits” hosting the Olympics might have brought them, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Mere minutes after news of Boston’s withdrawal hit, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti issued the following statement. “I continue to believe that Los Angeles is the ideal Olympic city…I would be happy to engage in discussions with the USOC about how to present the strongest and most fiscally responsible bid on behalf of our city and nation.”
Los Angeles has hosted the Olympics twice before, in 1932 and in 1984. The 1984 Olympics, which were boycotted by the Soviet bloc, made Carl Lewis and Mary Lou Retton household names across America.
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